I harvested grapes, figs, green onions, and basil from the garden. I also collected leek seeds from the garden.
I sewed the button back on a shirt and replaced a button on an outfit with one from my button jars.
Octavius, my three-year-old, asked me some questions about fish. He wanted to know about big fish and little fish, and he wanted to know what little fish eat. I showed him some YouTube videos and then realized that it has been several years since we’ve been to the aquarium that is inside the Silverton Aquarium that connects to the Bass Pro Shop across town. We took the children to see it, which was a great summer activity here as it was indoors.
We combined that trip with a trip to Ikea on the way home (we also ran a few errands on our way, dropping off library books, picking up a check, and running to the bank to save time and gas by making all of the trips at once). I had only taken my eldest and youngest children to Ikea before, and my 14-year-old was particularly interested in checking it out. Since we were 16 minutes away and would literally pass the store on our way home if we took a different route than the one we had on the way there, it was logical to go. I picked up some new drinking glasses for us which we were needing (at $1 each) and a Christmas gift for my eldest (which she had already told me that she wanted).
We filled our gas tank at Sam’s Club as it was 30 cents cheaper per gallon than other nearby stations.
My husband changed out our air filter to help our air conditioner run better.
I started researching refrigerators. It is has become evident that our eighteen-year-old refrigerator needs to be replaced soon. I looked for one that will fit in the space that we have (apparently refrigerators have become wider, so I have to buy a smaller fridge, unfortunately) and has the features I would like. I expect that there will be big sales for Labor Day at the beginning of September and I hope to buy a new refrigerator on sale then. There is only one that I really like (and it’s hard losing 3 cubic feet because fridges are now 3 inches wider!) so I hope that one goes on sale!
Winter went garage sale shopping up at college. This is her second time going this summer. Last time she found several ties for $0.50 each to give as Christmas gifts to my husband, her brothers, and a friend of ours. She gathered up nine ties and then used that great garage sale question, “Would you take . . . ?” She asked if the seller would take $0.25 a tie, and she did! I find this question works best when you are buying several items from someone. You can give them a total price for everything that is a bit less, or if everything is the same price (or it’s just one item) you can use this question as well. The seller can say no, of course, but they often say yes! This time she found a hat (from her university) for my husband.
My two teenage boys did some work for someone on Friday evening. They’ve been able to get a variety of odd jobs this summer. My eldest son also did some work for a woman and he started his new job this past week.
We gave my husband a haircut.
My mom offered me some cleaning supplies she no longer wanted. Though they aren’t what I usually use, they can certainly be used, so we’ll use them to do some cleaning. Most were bathroom cleaners. She also gave me several large sponges which are perfect for washing the car!
I took advantage of a flash sale to order some gifts online. I am slowly purchasing items for Christmas and birthdays as I find them. I hope to make some things as well, but so far my time has been very limited and I have been keeping birthdays and Christmas very simple with gifts purchased on sale, on clearance, and used.
What did you do to save money this past week?
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Winter is so brave for asking for discounts at the garage sales. She is looking ahead and that’s great!
We are getting vegetables out of our garden but the harvest is not so great as in years past.
Here are my frugal accomplishments this past week
https://www.vickieskitchenandgarden.com/2019/08/my-frugal-ways-this-past-week-81819.html
Vickie,
Thanks for the tip on the zucchini and slicing it for lasagna. I am going to try it. My garden, here in the northeast, started late & looks like it will finish early. Somehow my yields seem ok, not great tho.
A dear friend and her husband bought me 8 soup bowls to match my good china for my birthday. Quite a generous gift as they are real bone china, the pattern has been discontinued, and they can’t have been easy to find in any case.
Joined a friend one night for takeout pizza and wine (and to dry my laundry)
Did the rest of the laundry at the laundromat (new dryer hasn’t arrived yet) – time saver if not money saver.
Went to the base gym for free.
Bought a few random items from our need list from Amazon. I hate the way they send everything separate in its own packaging. I feel so wasteful throwing out all those boxes and packing material. Even if I let the cats play with them for a few days
My husband finished his Comp exams for his Doctorate. We’ll see in a few weeks…
Last week my daughter sent me a birthday gift & had it shipped from Amazon. Needless to say it was a box within a box within another box. I got the present then I gifted the boxes to my husband. He uses cardboard all over the place. (on top of car mats during the winter, against the walls where the wood is piled up etc. I’m not quite sure which one of us was happier with our present. Although I’ve never used it, my garbage company does have a cardboard recycling program. Maybe something to look into?
I save my boxes until there are a bunch, then post on CraigsList. People always come & take them and that way they get used more than once!
Congratulations to your Hubby!
Jennifer, I believe there is a box you can check to indicate you want all items shipped together. This won’t work, of course, if one item is fulfilled by Amazon and the other by an independent seller, but should work for most orders.
Good morning Brandy and those to follow. it sounds like you had a busy and productive week. Good luck on getting your refrigerator on sale.
Our cold and rainy summer has led to a feeling of fall in the air.
This weeks frugalities include:
Cutting down my mint. It is drying for tea
My green beans are doing well so I am able to share with DS
Harvested 2 ripe tomatoes which were enjoyed in sandwich
Eating beets,zucchini,cucumbers from the garden.
Packed all breakfasts and lunches for work.
Mowed and trimmed the lawn.
Tried a new recipe to use up some cauliflower and it was excellent.
I needed a new pair of trail running shoes and a friend was selling my type for 1/3 of the price. She Only wore them once and didn’t like them.
Volunteered at a local race. My area was the finishers food table. After the race was over volunteers were offered the leftover fruit. I came home with 2 large Ziploc bags of orange wedges and 1 bag of banana chunks.
Looking forward to everyone’s posts!
Hello Teresa from Alberta!
This is Sophie from Alberta!
Cool and rainy summer it is hey?!
It beats last summer’s smoke…
Blessings,
Sophie
Hi Sophie, what a small world. Sophie was my sister’s name as well.
It felt like we had no summer this year but grateful for less forest fires!
Hi Sophie and Teresa,
I’m also from Alberta. It is rare to see green grass so late here — a tribute to our rainy summer. It was supposed to be nice until next week but now there’s more rain starting Thursday. It sure helps on the watering bill. I too felt like we had no summer this year but you bet it sure beats smoke. Ann
Trail shoes…just your type and size…basically brand new….for 1/3 the price?? I have serious envy right now!!
Discovered I had rewards points on my bank credit card (which was used to pay for hubs new hearing aids and some other big amounts but paid in full when bill came.) Our bank gives the option of converting them to cash so I put $50 as an additional principal payment on our mortgage and another $20 into our savings account. Small amounts? Yes. But every bit gets us closer to our goal of paying off the house and beefing up our savings account!
We were gifted 4”x8”x2” paver bricks by the same friends who had given us so many quart canning jars! Their only stipulation was that we needed to pick them up rather than expecting them to deliver the free pavers to us! We went over to get some/all and discovered about 20 stacks of bricks! We loaded about 1-1/2 stacks before hubs declared that the weight of pavers loaded was as much as the van should carry in one trip! Our friends told us that they will reserve the rest of the pavers for us to pick up in however many trips we needed! We counted about 200 pavers that we brought home in the first load! At Lowe’s a few days later, we went into the garden section and saw that their identical pavers were 64 cents each! That would be around $1280 if we bought them!! Is it worth our gas in the car and sore muscles from loading/unloading these? We think so!!!!
I made up another tube of 8 “Grand” refrigerated biscuits (store brand, mark down to 59 cents) and added cheese, bacon and eggs I scrambled individually in MW so that there are more bagged up and ready to grab and go siting in fridge! Makes breakfast so easy for son as he leaves for work and is short on time. Makes it cheap for Hubs and me in the morning to warm up and get right to working on projects at home!
I used up some of the decorative landscape bricks and edging we got for free on Craigslist and from another friend to put in the brick walkway in front of blackberry bush bed. Just need to find/ buy 4 more octagonal bricks because I ran just a bit short. https://pin.it/ynmta2nlhepzf4
My longarm quilting machine and frame were scheduled to be delivered on Thursday which was great because our son at home had that day off and our son-in-law,who is retired (his wife is our daughter who co-owns it with me), drove down to also help unload it from the semi! The truck came, but only 6 of the 7 boxes were on the truck! The missing box had the actual sewing machine AND the manual which includes set-up directions! After 24 long hours, the box was located in Indianapolis and is being shipped here and I will have it on Monday (today)! In the meantime, the APQS headquarters emailed me a pdf of the manual so we could begin to set up the frame. https://pin.it/zfmae4cswq742l. Hubs is putting up shop lights to go over the 12 foot quilt frame and discovered he had stored in the basement, still in their boxes, brand new shop lights plus the tubes as well! So no out of pocket cost on this! Grateful that he is such a handy guy! And this means we have decluttered a bit more by using those shop lights instead of just storing them!
I have been taking advantage of our county’s “budget” program online which lets us pay our property taxes online monthly so when the end of the year comes, we won’t have a tax bill for the whole yearly amount in 1 lump sum! It is pre-paid this way and easier to budget for!
According to realtor.com, our Columbus, Ohio area is the 3rd hottest market for home sales in the country! We live in an old neighborhood with the houses all about 125+ years old. They said it was an “emerging” neighborhood when we bought our house. Well, after just 26 years, it appears to have emerged!! Derelict/ vacant houses are becoming rare and investors have come in and renovated homes with more than just a fresh coat of paint and prices are skyrocketing! Because we are within 5-10 minutes of Downtown (our state capital which also has many corporate headquarters), it has become the desirable neighborhood we always felt it would be! Zillow and Redfin now estimate our home value at almost $400K. And housing sales around us are supporting that! So we are grateful that in the next few years, even that debt (mortgage) will be completely paid off. Just as our food storage/pantry is a way to give us food security, getting the mortgage paid off will give us housing security!
I picked some more tomatoes and we have enjoyed putting them into salads! Nothing in the world beats the taste of a homegrown tomato!
I sold a few more small things on Facebook Marketplace! Little amounts- $5 here and $5 there but it all adds up! Half into savings and half to pay extra on mortgage!
This week we should get word from a friend about the time to pick up an upright freezer (for free!) from someone who is moving! We will then sell our chest freezer that still works great because we don’t really need 3 freezers! (Plus our 2 fridges that each have little freezer sections)!
My raspberries are ready to harvest again for their 2nd crop as are my blackberries and Concord grapes!
All in all a very good week!
Gardenpat, I agree about small amounts adding up. Whenever we get small amounts of money I put them in our emergency account. This morning I deposited $76 and realized that so far this year those dribs and drabs have come to $810! Years ago I would just have let that money fall through my fingers on things like a shirt I didn’t really need or a lunch at work instead of bringing my own. A lesson I wish I had learned when I was in my teens earning that babysitting and lawn care money.
Not much saving in last week.
Did take advantage of 10p off litre of fuel from Tesco but rather negated this by leaving an item I needed for work at home and needing to go back for it.
I was offered a free financial advice session from a reputable firm as part of a membership plan I need to have anyway-have just taken advantage of it and now have lots of thinking/planning to do. The advisor did say I was better informed than a lot of other people- proud of myself?.
I used a 10% off offer together with TopCashback to buy a necessary foodstuff in bulk( already using it-we were low). I am using TopCashback whenever I can as my sister suggested a gift card for my BIL for his birthday (he is saving towards a camera) and I can collect money for it this way. It is amazing how tiny amounts add up.
Had 2 offers of £5 off purchases come through- used them and now feel spoilt although will be putting some stuff away for Christmas and birthdays- shopped online ( free shipping and TopCashback).
Have a special occasion so children and I will be using groupon voucher to go out for an Indian meal ( using groupon plus a groupon discount code plus TopCashback so only paying about 40% of cost of meal to go out). Can’t remember last time we had meal out.
Have realised I have been overenthusiastic in buying wool for crochet projects (sigh). Will make 3 blankets ( one for each child) for Christmas. They will have a family momento and I enjoy my hobby. I know they will like this as when I was making one for one of them years ago the other requested one ( third child hadn’t made an appearance yet). The children always love what I make them. The blankets/wool are from the Attic24 blogger- I love her website and I think that some people on here might enjoy her as well. Lovely hearing about her life in Yorkshire as well as the crochet. Currently making her Dune blanket. Loads of free patterns on there.
Have been stocking present drawer when I see something someone will like or I see something that screams ‘present’ to me. So far this year I’ve shopped this drawer for presents for my mother and MIL, SIL, friend (x2), teacher’s gifts (x3), teenage daughter’s friends (x2), BIL Christmas and teenage son and daughter birthdays. It is so much more economical and I hate just buying a gift for the sake of having a gift to give- it has to suit the person.
Bought flour for 30p per 500g ( approx 1 lb) from approved food. Short use-by dates but will freeze. Also found dishwasher tablets for 10 p each- bought as many as could. Order did not arrive as expected- complained and been given account credit.
Took 19 year old car for MOT- walked/ used train back ( was tempted to use Uber as would not have cost much/ was raining but still money that did not need spending and walking increased my step count). MOT will cost a bit but really equivalent of 1 month payment for a new car so quite relieved actually. On my way back I stopped at station ticket office to buy tickets for myself and youngest child to go to Oxford tomorrow- they were half the online price if we left after 9.35. I think it was the expertise of the ticket lady that saved us the money ( plus a railcard). This will cost me much less than petrol would have.
The chest freezer I bought a few months ago continues to save me money. I have definitely saved the price of it in savings on food I have frozen since I bought it. I basically only shop the reduced racks. It is amazing what you can freeze ( including olives and hummus).Nothing I buy is full price anymore. I haven’t had the chance to work the garden this year but apple trees are producing- in addition to fresh apples I am making apple pie filling which I also use for apple turnovers- a favourite. I will make more of this over the next few weeks- easy to make in slow cooker. That’s all I can think of now. Happy frugalling everyone.
Sheena, what does “MOT” stand for?
That is awesome he asked, and you not only answer his questions but then take him to the aquarium.
This week
Was gifted essentially a paper grocery bag full of fresh garden produce. Tomatoes, eggplant, cucumbers jar of homemade salsa with a bag of tortilla chips and a bell pepper. This is a blessing as I was at my grocery limit for August the first week of August. With it, I will be making an eggplant/tomato topping to go on pasta, stuffed peppers, caprese salad, spicy Asian cuke salad served on top of chilled cous cous and chopped tomatoes to go on chicken Milanese.
For some of the produce, I gave my brother firewood from downed dead thick branches from our trees (due to storms).
I was gifted a few books and a cookbook I have been wanting – my mom had found them all for 25 cents each.
I continue to earn Amazon GC through Bing.com.
I was weeding and encountered poison ivy, and with removing the ivy, have a rash all down my arm. It wouldn’t be summer unless I have acquired a poison rash (ha!). I found some great Calamine lotion on sale for $2. So now I am also prepared for next summer as well!
I took advantage of a $2 off for just trying an app to buy the cheapest mailers for Ebay sales. I got a small quantity, without the $2 off would not have been cost efficient, but was able to find some and with the discount are equal to the same price per mailer had I bought a larger amount.
Stay inspired everyone!
Lucy at Attic24 is inspiring. The shell bunting and matching blanket are oh-so-tempting.
What a wonderful thing for your children to have jobs and to pick up little extra jobs. We did the same thing with our children and they now get the best recommendations from their workplaces. For us, it was the best way to train a child to be a diligent and thorough worker.
This week we have been focused on a frugal kitchen. Eating from the freezer still, incorporating the food we found and took from the expired or almost expired table, using up food in the fridge that had been there a while, and looking in the still disorganized kitchen cabinets for yet more food to use or store better. Normally, I’d pull everything out onto a table and reorganize; however, being ill makes that project seem really, really overwhelming. Therefore, I am proceeding a bit more slowly. We also have containers of canned goods in the basement that have yet to be gone through, but we are bringing up a can at a time to use.
My daughter found herself some clothing at the thrift shop since she wasn’t able to bring much back with her when she came to help me and most of her clothes are back in storage. While there, she found me a white tunic that is beautiful and fits. Not much fits right now due to the swelling, but this tunic fits now and will fit when I’m back to my normal size. I am not able to go out to see people, but have found that getting out of PJs and sweat pants really improves my attitude.
I bought a second-hand hanging lamp for over my sewing machine as I was having difficulty seeing even if I turned all of the lights in the room on. My husband hung it and now I have a well-lit area to work. It is beautiful blown glass.
My niece has arrived to help out as needed. She takes online college classes, so it works out well for all of us. She brought back 4 storage jars for the kitchen that we can use again. That will be very helpful in getting organized in this tiny kitchen.
I am spending hours each day getting free exercise. Building up strength and endurance. We needed one more mat for my niece to use and saw a women donating 3. I asked if we could have one and she said we could, so we got one for free.
Happy frugaling friends!
Continued prayers for your recovery!
Patricia/Fl
Patricia,
Thank you! Next week is the halfway point assuming all goes as well as expected.
Trish
kids are so much fun! A trip to the Aquarium sounds nice.
My frugal week included eating simple meals at home except that my husband and I had a date. Because of my medical situation I thought it was important to simply enjoy a date with my husband. He had worked overtime. I’m glad I did.
My week is expensive. Lots of medical appointments Cat scan tomorrow. I actually bought several cans of soup this week and ate that. I know it is cheaper to make your own but I wasn’t up to it this week. It was so nice to just open a can and there is a meal. I made tuna sandwiches one day also.
Tammy,
Praying all goes well.
Trish
Trish,
Thank-you.
Tammy
Tammy, I hope those medical appointments give your doctors wisdom to treat your issues. Does the facility offer a payment plan?We have had as many as 5 payment plans at different facilities, overlapping at the same time. That’s the only way we can pay our medical bills. Praying you feel better soon.
Tejas,
Thank-you. I’m hoping for financial help or payment plans. Thanks for your prayers!
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
I’m not sure you read my message from last week. Hopefully the cysts are benign. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Ann,
Thank-you,
I tried to send you a message last week. Not sure if it went through. Thank-you for your thoughts and prayers. I had a CT Today. I’m hoping they are benign too.
Tammy
Hi Tammy,
I went back and read your message. Thanks a lot.
About worrying, it took me most of my life to learn how not to worry. My mother used to say “don’t worry until you know you need to worry”.
I finally learned how to do that. There is not much good to come from worrying– worry won’t change your situation. many women have ovarian cysts that are benign. I hope and pray that yours will be, too. I think the suggestions made by Rhonda are excellent — learning a craft you can do while waiting in doctor’s office is a wonderful idea. You could keep a journal for those you love which writes down your wonderful memories of them. It would be a keepsake. I had a cousin who indeed had ovarian cancer that had spread by the time it was diagnosed. She was given 6 months to live. In fact she lived 7 years, and excellent years at that. And why? Because she wanted to hold her first grandbaby in her arms. Positive attitude and optimism can get you through tough situations. The stress from worrying isn’t good for you. I would listen to lots of music.
It is a good thing to wonder about your brain-injured son — take this as an opportunity to investigate what plans for his care might be available in case you cannot. One cannot foresee the future but one can be prepared for it.
Hugs,
Ann
Ann,
Thank-you. Boy it was nice to read your message this morning. I’m such a worrier. I’ve had pain on and off. It is not much fun. I really like the journal idea. I like to write and writing good memories of people I love is a good idea. Rhonda does have good Ideas and I appreciate her craft ideas. Just wish I felt better. I’d like to see my grandchildren grow up. and I definitely need to plan care for my son. My husband, his step father, told me he would take care of him. I have such a good husband. I do need to have a positive attitude and be more optimistic. Music is a good idea. It is calming.
Tammy
Great job with making simple meals, even if it was cheap canned soup. Sometimes, food is food, and easy is best. You’ve been on my mind a lot this week, thinking about your situation. With so many medical appointments that you need to attend, I assume there is also a lot of waiting to be seen by the medical professionals. Have you considered finding a simple craft to take with you to work on while you wait? Knowing your budget is tight, this might be a good time to start making a few simple Christmas gifts. In turn, it may help distract you from some of the worry. Again, Pinterest is the place to search for ideas using materials you already have. If you need some help, I’d be happy to find some ideas and suggestions for you (though finding them can sometimes be part of the fun). I just need a bit of info, like crafting skills you have, what materials you may have to work with, etc. Let me know if you’d like some help!
Rhonda,
Thank-you for the idea to do crafting. It had not even crossed my mind. Other things like who would take care of my brain-injured son if something happened to me. Making sure all my family knows I love them. those sorts of things. Too many worries. I do need to think positive and planning Christmas presents is a good idea. In fact some birthdays are coming up too! Not sure where to start. A neice and a brother-in-law have a birthday this month. Then my sons birthday in October. My sister’s in November. My daughter in law in October. My grandson and great nephews are 3, 5, and 8 for boys. And 5 year old granddaughter
Perhaps you could take a notebook with you to the next appointment, or sit down with one when the worry sets in, and write down everyones name that you give gifts to (birthday and Christmas). Beside or below their name, start writing down inexpensive or DIY gift ideas you could potentially give them. For some, the ideas will come easily, for others, you may struggle. To help you come up with ideas, go on Pinterest and search things like “frugal gift ideas”, “DIY gifts”, etc. If you see something that looks like you can make it with your skill sets and supplies you already have, pin it to a “gift ideas” board to reference later. With it being good weather still, there may be some projects that you can create outside. For instance, taking soup cans, punching designs in them with a nail and hammer, paint it (spray paint if you have it, or leftover paint from a house project), then stick a candle in it to create little patio lanterns (use search words “punch can lights”). Or paint/decorate some terra cotta pots and plant them with a plant you start from one of your house plants, or put a package of seeds with it for the recipient to plant later. Or, if you have some cement mix hanging around, you could create some stepping stones for the garden or maybe another cool garden project. There are so many great ideas to try. If they are cheap, you can experiment with creating them, keep the ones that don’t work out and give the ones that turn out really nice. Remember, with any craft there will be a learning curve, so don’t get discouraged if the first one doesn’t turn out perfect!
If you are willing to learn a new skill, try searching for “learn to ______” (knit, crochet, embroider, sew, quilt, etc). It will help you find blogs or you tube videos that you can use to learn a new craft skill! I suggest picking something that is relatively cheap to do, is something you’ve always wanted to learn or you see as useful to know and doesn’t require the purchase of a bunch of expensive equipment to do it. By learning a new skill, it becomes another distraction from the worry, and provides more DIY gifts that you can create, that only cost your time and minimal OOP expense. I ope you find this helpful. Again, if you need some help finding ideas, let me know!
Great Ideas, Thank-you Rhonda.
What a great idea to work on gifts for others instead of worrying! I struggle with anxiety, and this sounds like such a wonderful way to deflect “what-if” thoughts off of myself and instead use my time and energy wisely for others. Thank you, Rhonda!
I got the results of the Ct scan. I have 3 large tumors in my pelvis, and multiple ovarian cysts. Everything else,including uterus looks ok.. It is either benign or cancer. I will talk to the doctor very soon to find out when surgery is. I don’t really feel like doing crafts.If I felt better I would. I hurt and am tired most the time. But now I know why I hurt and have a heavy stomach.
So sorry to hear this. I know you are understandably worried. I went through my mother’s illness with her and I learned that you must get several opinions regarding treatment if you want the best outcome. Even though you may be tired and in pain, and wanting to get started on treatment, please get at least 2 other medical opinions. Surprisingly, there are vastly different protocols for treating tumors. Ask someone you trust to do some research to find the best doctors for you. Also, if not benign, there are The Moss Reports that give in-depth descriptions and analyses of the proven efficacy of both conventional and alternative therapies.
I wish you a good outcome.
Thank-you Cara. I will look up Moss Reports.
Oh Tammy, I’m sorry the news wasn’t better. At least you know a little better what is going on. Pain and fatigue is definitely hard to concentrate through. I understand why you don’t feel up to crafting at the moment. Take it easy, listen to music, think positive thoughts, and do what you can for now. Still thinking of you, and hoping everything works out in the best possible way for you, Tammy.
Rhonda,
Thank-you so much.
Tammy
Tammy,
Tammy,
I was so sorry to read about the CT scan results but hope they will still turn out to be benign. If not, please remember about my cousin who went for surgery for what was thought to be a gallbladder problem. They found malignant tumours on several organs — liver, kidney, etc etc. They removed as many tumours as they could and then she went to chemo etc. It is she who was given six months but lived seven years — well and happy years!
I do not know why but almost all of my friends have or recently have had cancer. I sometimes think it is because of Chernobyl but we will never know exactly why. All are doing well, even those who initially had the bleakest outlooks. That is what I want to give you — hope and plenty of it — even if it is bad news, you will still have a realistic hope of doing well. Although doctors can give you the statistics, their numbers are not a sure thing. If you have to have chemo, different people react differently to chemo. I remember phoning my cousin not knowing she’d had chemo that morning. She felt good enough to wash her kitchen floor. So you have cause to worry but worry won’t really help. So I’m praying and hoping for a good outcome for you.
The real blessing of your situation is your husband. He sounds wonderful. I am not sure how old your son is but you might consider some legal document giving you and if you’re not able then your husband the legal ability to deal with others (like medical profession etc etc) on your son’s behalf. Shouldn’t cost too much money to have something like this done. He sounds like a gem! You have been through a lot up to now but know that your many friends are praying for you. Ann
Ann,
Thank-you. Good Idea to give my husband the legal ability to deal with my son. I am such a worrier. I know I’m not supposed to worry but I do anyway. I did feel better today and actually spent a few hours with our grandkids. I couldn’t do a lot of walking but I sat and watched them play and played with them. It actually made me feel better. I hadn’t seen them for most of this month. I’m looking forward to being rid of the junk inside of me. Although , I’m reading a book on alternative medicine for curing cancer, (even though I don’t know if it is cancer). I’ve started taking vitamin c and B12. Thank-you for your prayers and thoughts. I appreciate it very much.
Tammy, I had skin cancer removed when my youngest was just a few months old. I had been taking not only vitamin C, but higher amounts of iron and B12 as well to combat anemia. My hemoglobin was VERY high when the baby was born (higher than I’ve ever had it and higher than most women ever have it) and it did not prevent the cancer from spreading. However, it did help tremendously with my energy levels. I was taking it in three forms each day. My eldest decided to take additional vitamin B12 along with her mulit-vitamin that has it and saw a difference in her energy levels within 3 days. I think taking these two vitamins will certainly make you feel better each day!
Tammy,
I agree with Brandy about the nutrition. I’m not sure about taking iron at the moment (I’d ask your doctor about that) but I think you might consider adding folate (folic acid). The reason why I am cautious about the iron supplements is that some recent, reputable medical research shows that ferric citrate ( a form of iron in iron supplements) is carcinogenic. I would only supplement iron if you are actually deficient in it.
I know you haven’t felt like eating. Folate supplies in the body only last about two weeks.
If your folate is low, then you would feel really tired. Leafy green vegetables like raw spinach are a good source of folate as are avocadoes. You could consider taking folic acid to help get your folate levels up but I think you could get it up quickly by eating fresh spinach, green peas, asparagus, liver, brussels sprouts, dark green leafy greens. I had a folate deficiency and my hair turned grey, started falling out, I felt weak and really tired and lacked energy. Once treated, my hair started turning brown again and my energy was restored. One problem is that folate does not survive cooking well. So green vegetables should be eaten raw or steamed very briefly. My mother pointed this out to me years ago but I had forgotten. Now when I cook frozen peas, I put them in the same pot as pasta but after the pasta is cooked and then I just leave them in the water extremely briefly. I hope this helps.
Brandy,
Thank-you. I just started taking B12 supplement a couple days ago along with vitamin C. I do feel better today. I was actually supposed to start it sooner but honestly was too tired to go to the store after my other obligations. So my husband drove me there. I visited family today and it was very nice. Actually i’m taking B complex with B12 in it and it has Folic Acid, in it like Ann mentioned. I have been napping but my energy level is better day and maybe that is why. I appreciate the advice very much.
Tammy
That sounds wonderful. I’ve found b12 to work within a few days and I know other people who have as well. I looked at the natural sources of b12 yesterday and I don’t really eat those things much: beef, clams, other seafood, etc. are pricey items and not a regular part of my diet, though I like them.
Ann,
Thank-you for your advice about Folate. I just started taking a b complex a few days ago. I am feeling better. Perhaps the vitamins did make me feel better that quickly. I appreciate the list of foods. Nutrition is really important.
I have an appointment next week with the surgeon.
I hope you are doing well.
Tammy
At the beginning of the week, I took a long trip out of town to visit family in another state, It was expensive in terms of gas and tolls but I packed food and beverages so that I did not need to stop and purchase any on the trip. I also said yes to some home canned salsa and jam to take home.
My brother-in-law asked me to harvest from his garden while he and his family were away. I filled two reusable shopping bags with spaghetti squash, butternut squash, zucchini, eggplant, and icebox watermelon. I also filled a small cooler with tomatoes. What a blessing!
I used a $1o off a $50 purchase at Big Lots. I kept my purchase to $50 to mazimize the value of the coupon at 20 percent and purchased food items for my pantry. I purchased only things that I regularly use and were already a good value. When I got home, I realized what I’d gotten was such a good deal that I went back the next day and did it again, allowing me to fill in some holes in my pantry.
I used a coupon to save 50% on an item I need for my business. I also needed a new printer. Afer reasearching and comparing prices online, I was able to get what I wanted at 40% off the regular price.
All said and done, I spent a lot of money this week but it was a lot less than it could have been.
My frugal things for last week –
I finished reading Where the Wind Leads , thanks for the recommendation, Brandy!
Since I needed to return the book to a library a little bit further away, I combined a bunch of errands at the same time.
I have been wanting a new pillow for awhile so I finally got one at Bed, Barh & Beyond using a 20 % off coupon.
Are in all week except for one very hot evening when my husband or I did not want to cook. My husband & FIL shared a pizza and I had a steak sandwich. There were several leftover pizza slices for a couple of lunches.
My husband took leftovers for lunch, each day he worked.
I went grocery shopping alone, I seem to save more this way!
That is all I can think of. I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal posts.
Here at our house we are involved in finding interesting activities for a teenage boy visiting from Germany. So far we have been able to keep expenses quite low. He loves to hike and has been on 4 or 5 so far. However, our temperatures here (Utah) have kept him from doing as much hiking as he would like. I’m sure Brandy and others of you living in hotter places will smile at what I think is “too hot”! He has already learned the hard way (in spite of our cautions) to use sunscreen. We are at a higher altitude than his home area. He is also a vegetarian, which has been somewhat of a challenge for us. We’ve been making him peanut butter and jam sandwiches and veggies and fruit for his hikes. Thankfully he has had a good attitude toward everything. We took him to his first rodeo Saturday evening. This week will involve some museum visiting and other things that can be done indoors. I know many of you have just finished getting children ready for going back to school. Now, or soon, will be your chance to catch a breath! Have a good week!
-I had half a package of hamburger buns in the freezer after I used up all the hamburger meat. I have got over thinking I need to use certain kinds of bread in certain dishes. I had toast twice and made two pastrami sandwiches.
-I ordered art supplies from a UK company. When I priced them on Amazon, they were much less expensive than ordering them from a Canadian company. They were shipped promptly, and had free shipping and no customs duty. (The free shipping was a surprise. Prime had said their free shipping wouldn’t apply.) The customs broker got it right when they left off provincial sales tax, since my province only has the federal GST (goods and services tax). There was only a small handling fee for the broker, and the broker phoned me to let me know the customs and tax charges, and how to pay them online. The package arrived three days before the earliest estimated date. I ordered a pack of watercolor pencils and a pack of pastel pencils. I was looking for some enjoyable things to do at home this winter. I am excited like a little kid at Christmas to have something to play with!
-Blueberries got packaged in two-cup portions and put in the freezer, though many more than usual got eaten before I managed to package them,.
-I bought six jars of Classico pasta sauce at half price, which is the best price it is available here. I got three different varieties. This is a six-month supply for me. I also bought two 2-lb bags of pasta, which were also half price, which is a little better than the normal best price. I am envious of the better prices that US readers find on these items, but we need to bloom where we’re planted!
-A Mediterranean Diet cookbook I have has lots of suggestions about how to cook vegetables in a healthy way. I tried putting a small amount of olive oil and grated Parmesan on steamed cauliflower florets. It had a lovely cheesy flavor, without a higher-calorie cheese sauce. Cheese is very expensive where I live at the moment, so it was frugal as well.
-I couldn’t find red potatoes when I shopped at the beginning of the month. My Scottish/Irish heritage made me tense that there might be a potato shortage this year. (The corn season got cut short very abruptly this year due to weather conditions.) This last week, though, the new crop were starting to come in, at half the price of what they are in the winter. They only had a few bags, so they may have ordered them because I was asking.
You’ve inspired me to think about holiday shopping. I often start this month, but haven’t this year. It sounds as though you and Winter are making good (& frugal) progress on your shopping. Besides harvesting and doing something with all the garden produce, my husband & I were able to harvest 22 asian pears, and 3 dozen figs at a place he was working for free. I foraged two types of mushrooms, both of which were covered in the class I recently took, and cooked them up as part of yesterday’s breakfast. A few perennials were purchased at 75% off, making them either $1 or $1.25 ea. Tomatoes and summer squash were canned. My husband bought a new TV, which came with Roku. I know I’ve read comments here of some that used it, and would appreciate suggestions. The only shows I’ve watched in a long time were This Is Us and The Crown, both of which I enjoyed. I look forward to seeing what everyone is up to. http://abelabodycare.blogspot.com/2019/08/old-man-of-woods-frugal-accomplishments.html
We really like ROKU – there are quite a few free channels on it. You can also get things like Amazon Prime and Netflix through it – although of course those are for $. I have also subscribed to Acorn and Britbox and streamed them through ROKU.
Mary
Hi
Just read your blog. I put the photo of your mystery plant into an app I have that identifies plant- it is narrowleaf zinnia ( zinnia augustifolia)
Thank you, Sheena! I’ll check it out, but am guessing it’s not a perennial then. Better enjoy it while I can.
Mary, we still need to sit down and figure out how Roku works. We have Amazon Prime. Thank you for your ideas.
Well…my son turned 10 and we had a pool party for 15 kids and 4 adults on a budget. Also I got some great deals on cheese at Kroger along with a coupon. I have 2 non spend days…this is my new goal…it used to be one a week. Gas was $.30 cheaper a gallon near my daughter’s gymnastics studio so I filled up there. Made all meals at home except for pizza for the party and 1 lunch out for me and one for each of my kids. Also I have found a Aldi about an extra 5 miles away is much cheaper than the one by my house…like $1.79 for a gallon of milk vs. $2.15… many other items have the same savings that traveling there is worth it…and honestly I am there 2 times a week for a different appointment anyways.
My week was extremely busy. My mom is still recovering from her fall and broken arm, so I went over to her place twice to help out. I brought her some food and made her dinner one night. Things are slowly improving.
Frugal accomplishments (I started a list, but can’t find it right now):
– When I picked up my farm share (CSA), I was able to get a few extra imperfect tomatoes that had been put aside. I am not picky about tomatoes. We have been eating them and I will freeze the extras if there are any.
– Made a couple new recipes with food I had on hand: zucchini tots (which flattened in the oven, but they were still good) and oatmeal muffins (from a recipe that someone posted on here a few weeks ago). Yum. Also made pesto and soup for my husband when he wasn’t feeling well.
– Did all the things I normally do: ate at home, brought my lunch to work, made water kefir, mixed up solution to put in the humming bird feeder.
– A coworker gave me a bunch of greeting cards she had received after making a donation to an organization. I was happy to receive them because I have three birthdays coming up next months that I needed cards for.
– My husband and I are going to Chicago over Labor Day weekend. Researched the cheapest way to get to the airport and back (drive and park in a nearby lot). Made a reservation and paid in advance to get the best discount.
– Enjoyed the flowers I picked as a part of my farm share.
– Picked herbs and green onions from my patio garden.
– Enjoyed watching a visiting chipmunk and our resident birds and squirrels.
– Exercised at home, outside and at the gym.
– Read my favorite frugal blogs and watched youtube videos for inspiration.
– Put a book that I want to read on hold at the library.
Have a great week, everyone!
A couple years ago we were forced into needing to replace our refrigerator as well. I’d looked online and found one I felt would be sufficient and in the price range I wanted, but when we went to the store and saw it in person I was so disappointed. One side had an ice maker that was extremely bulky and took up way too much space within the refrigerated section that I hadn’t noticed as much online vs. seeing in person. We looked around that store and came across a very fancy-type that was nearly twice the price of what I originally thought I’d buy with extra features, but had been returned because there were scratches on the side and a small ding (about the size as a grain of rice) on the door towards the bottom. Between the store discount from the scratches/damage and the Presidents’ Day sale it came to within $50 of my price point. Once we put it in the kitchen the scratches can’t even be seen as that side is against the wall. It was a great surprise to stumble upon.
I have been to the store several times and looked each time I was there over the last year. I don’t want an ice and water dispenser in front. The store only had one that didn’t have that option and now they don’t have that one in stock–and now I know that despite being the same storage size it would have been a couple of inches too wide for our space. I will have to order online when they go on sale.
Hi Brandy,
If you have a separate freezer, and I think you do, there’s the option of getting a refrigerator that’s only a refrigerator. We did that several years ago and are quite happy with all the extra space in the fridge compartment. We just walk into our carport (right outside the kitchen) to get things out of the freezer. A refrigerator only might also fit your space.
Just a thought.
Hmm. Not a bad idea. I will look and see. I do like having more freezer space from both, however, I thought of this idea years ago but had forgotten about it.
the first question the store salesman asked was was there a cabinet over the frig or cabinets beside the frig. He said many had been returned because they didn’t fit. I know we struggled with losing 1 cubic ft of space, I can’t imagine losing more. That’s part of the reason when we moved here we decide to put the frig on the wall with nothing over or beside it. I do have a old(late husband’s grandmother’s )metal cabinet with a slide out cutting board to the side of it now.
I cancelled cable tv last week. We still have the internet and will use hulu with live tv. It will save at least $50 a month that can be used better elsewhere. I needed some kind of streaming device for the tv in my daughters bedroom. We went to bestbuy and got a roku. I earned shopkick points for that. I used a best buy giftcard that I had for I think 16 years, it had $25 on it. I only paid 12 and change for the roku. After almost 3 years of not having an extra freezer, we bought a new one. We sold the one we had 2 years ago because we couldnt have it in the apartment and it was taking up storage space. I shopped around and we got a good deal on the new one, but we probably should have waited till labor day. DH wanted it now. He did sign up for the lowes credit card and they took $100 off the price. The first bill I will pay it off and cancel the card. I have been turned down deals left and right because I simply dont have room for them. We recently went up north to see my husbands family. I shopped around and booked the hotel through rakuten to get some money back. I packed a cooler with things that didnt need to be cooked. The hotel had free continental breakfast, so every day I grabbed some extra things, (an extra bagel, or piece of fruit). This way when we got hungry during the day we had additional items to eat. I had been saving cash for this trip. The hotel was put on the credit card but gas and everything else we used cash for. I actually brought cash home. We ate most dinners from the items I had brought with us. One night out of the trip we wound up getting pizza. We were an hour away from the hotel at dinner time. It was also pizza from the town where we used to live. I cant really think of anything else extra out of the ordinary to save money. Hope everyone else has a great week.
The trip to the aquarium was a wonderful way to answer Octavius’ questions. Also good for Winter for shopping and bargaining at garage sales!
This was our week–
I harvested tomatoes and pulled up the bean vines. I canned two pints of tomatoes and have enough tomatoes on the counter for a few more. I have a very small garden, so I’ll be doing good to get 12 pints in total, but 12 pints is 12 pints!
A neighbor gave me a bag of plums.
I sanded the old finish down to bare wood, stained, and got the first coat of Varathane on the top of my oak dining table. It was really beat up, and now it looks a thousand times better. The stain is a very good match for the pedestal and chairs, which I am not refinishing. I was quoted $700 sight unseen just to strip the top, although in truth I don’t think they would have charged that much because it all came off with coarse sandpaper and took less than 2 hours.
My husband, who much prefers working with new materials, is using up leftover/used 2x4s to build shelves in the garage. This is BIG for him!
My gift-a-month for August wasn’t homemade, but I did assemble it with bargain buys. It is for my daughter-in-law for Christmas.They bought their first home a few months ago and she grew tomatoes this year. I bought a brand new double planter at a thrift store for $3.59. I filled it with a couple of flower pots, pruning shears, folding pruning saw and a Korean ho-mi, which is my weapon of choice for hardcore hand digging and weeding. I got everything on sale or clearance, plus some of these items will be hard to find (and full price) at Christmas. Previous gifts were homemade jam in June and bath bombs in July. I am working on an idea for September for my daughter’s birthday.
Nice to read comments from yet another Albertan. I get my pasta from No Frills. It is about $1.17 for a package. the exact same pasta sells for about $2.50 from Shoppers Drug mart. I try to buy enough for several months. I, too, find cheese really expensive at the moment. Ann
The above comment was for Elizabeth M. I’m not sure how it ended up here!
I found your comments anyway!
I’ll watch out for that. I don’t get into the city very often to be able to visit a No Frills, but it is encouraging to hear about bargain prices like that. I do know that Shoppers had the very best sale prices on eggs, for some reason, when I shopped there regularly a few years ago.
Shoppers usually has the eggs on sale for $1.88 (on Ontario anyways), but the sale is usually only on Saturday (check the flier, to confirm, because sometimes it’s 2 days only sometimes 1 day and they do change the days occasionally). I have found that if you buy milk (usually price of milk is same as grocery store) at Shoppers, the following week you will get a 20X PC points “coupon”. Almost everything you buy at Shoppers earns you PC points, but they are often more expensive than No Frills, so it’s not always a good deal. As for cheese, I find it often goes on sale around holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.). I watch for the sales, then buy a bunch of bricks and put them in my freezer to use later. This is not cheap to stock up on, as the sale prices are usually around $4 a brick, but much cheaper than paying $6-$7/brick!
Rhonda, I’m definitely going to watch out for the cheese sales around holidays. I hadn’t made that connection.
A local store has a daily special, which sometimes has cheddar on sale say, every Tuesday for one or two months. You can get one or two bricks (there’s always a limit), but do that several weeks in a row. The local Co-op store sometimes has very good sales on cheese and butter too.
We had to lovely rains this week, and what a blessing. Weeding is back but I did it yesterday right after a rain and the garden looks better. I staked some toppled tomatoes back up and can see better that some should get pulled this week. There will still be plenty of plants and I have three more little plants that volunteered and they should take us into the first frost. My zucchini’s are definitely dying and I pulled two plants yesterday. I have found little tiny lettuce plants from spring plants that I left and they went to seed! That is so fun and now I will have around a dozen baby plants to transplant in September. I will plant sugar pea seeds tonight and maybe kale too. We are supposed to get rain, and a cool from this weekend, so this will be a great time to plant.
I have taken more broth and lambs quarters to my friend with the broken arm and have been drying her figs. I now have a gallon of dried figs, and a gallon of dried tomatoes from my garden. I have also been drying Holy Basil and hope to have a good stash by the late fall. That makes a tremendous tea, an adaptogen which helps with my sleep.
My daughter continues to share her compost with me and I am emptying it into my trenches that I plant in. They have a layer of aged manure on top. My neighbor brought me a load of aged cow manure and I will shovel it into my rows in September. My goal is to plant more lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, beets, carrots, radishes and sugar peas by September.
We have been eating stir fries, soup, and chicken chipotle bowls. I am using whatever veggies I have as fast as I can however I can. I eat salads or soup for lunch everyday, which is fine with me. I made my skinny monkey cookies and take those for snack at work.
We are going on a four day vacation to about three hours away in SW Virginia, to the mountains. We had hoped to bike, hike and kayak, but we may get rained out. I went to the library and checked out a stack of books on vegetable gardening, herbal medicine and some novels. Hopefully if it does rain I can do some reading , I did see there is a living history museum nearby that my hubby agreed we could visit. I am bringing snacks, fruit, water and my kombucha . I hope this will help with the food bills as I would pack it all in but my hubby likes to eat out, so this is a good compromise. We will have free breakfasts too.
I hope everyone has a goo week as summer begins to wind down.
I have a No Frills nearby and there is a Shoppers just across the road so I always check out both. Shoppers will occasionally have a few good deals but I often can’t believe their prices for certain food items – it will be twice the price of the same item just down the road – and they are owned by the same parent company! As a consumer you really have to pay attention!
Thursday morning I log in to activate my Loyalty points and then I check out the online flyers for No Frills – Shoppers and Loblaws (all the same parent company for the US readers) and the differences can be amazing – it’s a constant juggling act to get the best price possible.
Furthermore, No Frills will price match, but Shoppers and Loblaws will not…yet they are owned by the same parent company. It’s so frustrating! I once argued with a cashier at No Frills about price matching a product that was on sale at Loblaws. It’s the same company! What difference does it make if I buy it at a different store?
It was another good, frugal week.
I took a baby gift to a baby shower that I bought, new with tags, at a garage sale.
I took the kids to the Goodwill in the fancy part of town. I found several things, plus I listed and sold several items I found there on facebook marketplace. I try to at least break even on each garage sale morning/Goodwill trip, since I usually keep most items for my family and resell the rest.
Some neighbors were moving out and drug a lot of things to the curb for trash. My roadside rescues were a patio set, which I sold for $20, and some Asian looking outdoor potter décor, which I sold for $10.
I bought loss leaders and markdowns at the grocery stores, and got the kids the free cookie and piece of fruit that Kroger gives. They ate the cookies right away but brought the bananas home for later.
I bought gas at the cheaper gas station.
I was out of paper towels, so I drained the bacon on an old stained shirt that I was going to throw away anyway.
My mom babysat my youngest two kids so that I could participate in a work conference call without distractions.
We used coupons for fast food.
I’m ordering the free Walgreens 8×10 print.
I was able to pass on some baby items to a friend having a baby.
We enjoyed going to a different library branch. I had to pickup a textbook from work, so we went to the library on campus, then to a grocery store nearby that has kid-sized shopping carts. My kids loved it, and they each got to pick out a bag of goldfish crackers, which were $.89 with the mega sale, a back-to-school treat.
We went to the pool with my cousin and his family. We packed lots of food to share and got in free as their guests. Their pool has a splashpad, water slides, etc., and was a lot of fun.
Leigh Anne, I’ve heard about the cookie, but never the fruit. How do you get each of them for free?
I’m not Leigh Anne, but Fred Meyer (Kroger) has a small display of free fruit for children in the produce department. Now tell me where to get the free cookies, LOL!
Right you are! The cookie is obtained by stopping at the bakery counter at Kroger’s/ Fred Meyers/Frys! For children only though! ?
Brandy, our Kroger stores here (Houston, TX) have a cardboard stand in the produce section that advertises a free fruit item for kids ages 12 and under. Ours usually has apples and bananas, and sometimes coloring sheets.
I’ve never seen one but I will look at Smith’s (our Kroger affiliate) and see if they offer it. I know that years ago I was offered a cookie from the bakery for one of my children but it has been a very long time.
Not a big week for savings, but did my best eating at home, combining errands, and staying home if possible.
Sent in rebates for menards for $14.97 and $4.47
Sent in for $16 gift card for autozone for spark plug rebates
Kept bts shopping minimal, I didn’t buy the 12yo a ton of clothes to start, she has more than plenty to wait for sales.
My neighbor has been generous with zucchini and we pretty much ate our fill for awhile. So I froze 32 cups of shredded zucchini.
We went to Golden Corral for dinner and used a $10 gift card towards the total
Frugal fail: at the end of the last school year, I tossed my daughter’s band book(it was falling apart). They didn’t finish it, so I had to go buy another copy. Whoops.
IKEA is fun to visit, even if you don’t buy anything. Do they have the kids’ playland in the version you visited? That would have been fun for your kids!
My frugal week:
– I tried to use up a few items from my pantry (dried coconut and a quarter of a can of condensed milk) and made coconut macaroons (http://approachingfood.com/coconut-macaroons/). I modified the recipes that inspired me, so that I only used one egg white instead of several.
– I’ve been trying to delay my shopping trip, so I’ve looked in the pantry for things I can make, and came up with a few meals. I made burrito bowls, using beans and rice, plus leftover taco toppings. I had made the taco seasoning from spices I already had. I made a lot of rice all at once, and turned some of the remaining rice into fried rice the next day. I also froze some rice, along with most of the beans.
– Using the FlashFood app, I was able to purchase a $15 round of Havarti cheese for $5, and box of produce worth $10, for $3 (the box contained a cantaloupe, a container of plums, 4 oranges, and a dragon fruit). As I have a food slicer, I was able to slice the cheese for lunches. I love saving money on food!
– I baked two loaves of sandwich bread, and ate cheese sandwiches for lunch every day, plus had leftover bread and cheese to freeze, enough for another week of lunches.
– I baked a loaf of cinnamon roll bread, and also made a batch of fudge sauce. (http://approachingfood.com/a-ton-o-hot-fudge-sauce/)
– I turned the 10 lbs of cherries I bought on super-discount last week, into cherry preserves and canned them. I will use them over the next few months to stir into my homemade yoghurt.
– I used a $2 of $10 coupon at a store I don’t usually shop at, to buy some ground beef for my daughter. While at the store, I took advantage of a free-fruit-for-kids program, to get my daughter a banana.
– I picked up a sample of baby shampoo/body wash at my daughter’s dr’s office. So far, I’ve been able to use only sample bottles for my daughter’s baths. I’m hoping to be able to get to a year, before I have to start using the bulk-sized baby shampoo bottle I bought before she was born. All these small economies add up!
– I regrew green onions in some water.
– I asked for and received a discount on plumbing services.
– A friend kindly gave my daughter some toys that her son outgrew, as well as giving me a bunch of baby-proofing materials. My daughter is happy with her new toys and I’m happy not having to buy additional baby-proofing materials!
– And finally, using my local trading app, I was able to trade a BNIP of dry shampoo that I had received as a bonus in a previous trade, for digital currency worth $4.
Looking forward to learning from everyone, as usual!
They have the playland but I didn’t leave them in it. They had fun with us exploring the store and dancing in the kitchen which was playing under-cabinet music.
Brandy, It bings a “smile in my mind’s eye” to read that your children were dancing in the kitchen at Ikea!
Margaret, my husband won’t eat rice after it is frozen because he said it turns to mush. What are you doing right that I am doing wrong?
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry.blogspot.com
I’m doing the same thing you are, Jeannie! I just don’t care if the rice isn’t perfect when defrosted because I will use it as an ingredient as opposed to a side dish by itself. Mixed with spices and beans and eaten in tortillas, I won’t notice if the texture isn’t what it was fresh out of the pot!
How on earth is Octavius three already!?!
I feel for you on the new refrigerator. My range hood/microwave combo is 20 years old and starting to show signs of impending doom. We’ve already, for varying reasons (such as age, early failure and an electrical short during a hurricane) had to replace our dishwasher twice, our washer twice, our dryer, our refrigerator, and our stove, in the past 20 years. I really don’t want to have to replace the microwave/hood now, but we use it a good bit, so if it goes, I’ll find a way to replace it. I give it a gold star for hanging in there so long. A dying refrigerator is a real problem, because there’s the issue of how long your food stays safe in it.
Winter is doing great on shopping ahead! She’s leaving me in the dust. You’ve taught your kids well. It’s great that your kids can pick up jobs, too. The experience is worth more than the money, to me.
I took time to check out my first Aldi, on a trip to a new VA facility over an hour from us. It’s not near enough to shop there, but since we were going right by it, I made time to check it out. I found a few things at good prices, although this store was quite small.
I took an online survey that will put $2 in my Paypal account. It was less than 10 minutes to take.
It rained all weekend, so I had to use the dryer some, but I hung things indoors on a rack as much as I could.
I watched a free movie on the television with my Roku, that was a gift.
I’m still using free tinted lip balms that I got last year when I ordered some on-sale makeup brushes as Christmas gifts.
I’m steadily buying cards to Amazon or Paypal with my Swagbucks. I especially like to use gift cards to buy birthday and Christmas gifts.
Our figs are long since done, but our grapes are ripening and my Meyer lemon tree has its best crop yet. I’m keeping my fingers crossed!
The crazy thing is that it still keeps the food cold! But all of the parts are breaking and they no longer sell replacements. I can no longer use my produce drawers as they broke recently. One of the sections on the door has been replaced once years ago but is now held on with duct tape. The freezer doesn’t seal tight. And the strangest thing now is that it is dripping water inside on the top shelf so that water pours out onto the floor every night. There is no water line attached to this fridge. So, it is safe to use, but extremely annoying. The drawers and the top shelf are useless now.
Our older fridge (with the freezer on top) had water dripping onto the top shelf, making a huge mess. It turned out it was due to the defrost condensation freezing on the evaporator coils and in the channel that is supposed to route the condensation into the fridge. This might be what is going on with your fridge. We had ours repaired – there are also tutorials on YouTube, but I had no patience to do it myself.
That’s what we think it is. But with the bottom drawers now broken and replacements no longer being available, I’m thinking a new fridge would be the better investment.
Does the fridge have a tray at the bottom that collects water? It might need emptying but i’m sure you’ve thought about that…
No tray. There is water on the top shelves and it runs down below my drawers and out the front of the fridge, out of the kitchen and into the laundry room!
is it trying to wash the floors for you? Don’t we all wish. I had one do that. I ended up putting foil across the top shelves and then a towel and had to make sure I had the bucket right there when I removed the towel.
Oh my, we had a refrigerator that ran well but the insides just started breaking off and breaking up. In fact, we still have it in our laundry room but it doesn’t have enough shelf/door shelf/bin space anymore to use it in the kitchen. I put sacks of greens, spare gallons of milk, bags of fruit or vegetables, and extra dishes at holidays in it. It still keeps things cold, but I agree, a refrigerator missing some shelves and bins isn’t going to work in a busy kitchen. Good luck – I hope you find a perfect one!
My produce drawers broke long ago, so I went and bought plastic bins with holes in the sides to replace them. Works like a dream.
The puddling of the water every day all the way into the next room is a bit too much for me! I’ve been wanting a new one, but now, at least, I can feel good about it!
Hmmm…I may have to try this as I have a small drawer that hangs below the top shelf that has a broken (and very sharp) corner.
Just found the blog. What an inspiration!
Our frugality is a funny one. 18yo DD is getting ready to leave for college and was trying out a ‘brownie in a mug ‘ recipe. Instead of dumping the cocoa powder in her mug, she dumped it into the sugar canister. I told her to just leave it. I came back to it and realized I could make brownies for all of us from that boo-boo and thus I made ‘stupid brownies’. DH was thrilled!
She leaves next week and I envision that since we will be just a couple again (she’s our only), we can really get into a mindset to get through debt and be more at peace.
Welcome Kathleen!
So jealous you have Ikea! We don’t live anywhere one, but when we have been to them have gotten some good stuff cheap. Our car was demolished in an accident, so because of my tightwad ways and putting away a car payment every month we paid cash and I am sure saved a bundle in interest. We keep our cars forever so this one should last a long time.
My husband had a job offer across the county, closer to his family, so we are seriously debating what we want to do. The starting salary is a bit lower than what he makes now, but the opportunity for growth and eventual partnership is tempting, versus the corporation he works for now which caps his salary and the potential for career growth is also capped. He will fly out to the company and do a 3-day working interview. They will reimburse his flight once he gets out there and I’m thankful we had emergency savings to cover the flight.
We’ve been researching the best and most frugal way to move. We’ll move ourselves and drive across the country, staying with family or cheap,hotels for the night. Does anyone have any tips for frugal cross country moves? It’s an exciting change! We’ve been paying off school debt and this new opportunity will help with that! We would be in a lower housing cost area than where we are now, so the possibility to own a home could be a reality rather than a dream!
We will be so sad to leave Virginia and the amazing historical sites nearby, but we’ve always known this was not permanent. Even though my family is here, they will be moving as well in the next 4-5 years. It’s bitter sweet for sure.
Love to you all!
Lisa: Congratulations to your husband and best wishes as you make this big decision!
I’m sure the major moving advice you will find is: Get rid of stuff. Don’t store it. Marie-Kondo it, think harshly about what you need or don’t need, and sell, pass-along, or donate most of it. Quit shopping and eat all your food! You might come up with good-bye rituals, (especially if you have children or with your family), for things and places you wish to recall, maybe with photos of what you are letting go of. But future you will thank present you for not spending major money to move across the continent.
You might check Amtrak or Greyhound to see what they ship and how expensive it is, as well as USPS for books and media. Figuring out the cost per square foot per box, counting trucking and gas if you’re driving, might show those are cheaper options. Moving furniture worth only a few hundred dollars, or easily replaceable things like holiday decorations and rubbermaid storage containers isn’t a bargain, and you will be able to find new and used stuff in the new place. Time your drive to avoid major cities at rush hour. And accept any help that is offered to you, as that is part of how the Virginian’s will say good-bye for now, and the people in the new place say hello.
Ca$h is the easiest thing to move. It’s light and doesn’t take up much space.
Ordinary furniture (i.e., not antique or extremely expensive to replace) is probably not worth moving unless you move yourself, and even then it is questionable. Assuming you have two vehicles, how much could you move by renting two trailers? How does this compare in price with renting a truck and towing one vehicle?
Can your husband negotiate with new employer for moving expenses?
Before you make your own arrangements, check and see if the company would pay for a move and, if, so what you need to do for that. Since it is a cross-country move, you may be able to negotiate all of most of it. I’m no help at cheap moving since all our moves have been paid for (yes, I’m totally spoiled!).
My only other tip is to remember to pack plates, bowls etc. “on edge” rather than stacked like you do in a cupboard – the weight of the top plates typically cause the bottom ones to crack during a move. Wrap in a placemat, dishtowel or between two napkins and stack on edge in a box lined with placemat, dishtowel or napkin. You will want them snug but not tight.
Best of luck! Moving is always a pain in my opinion and I hope it goes well for you! Best wishes on your decisions,
Lea
If you have canning jars to move, empty or full, take old tube socks, cut them in thirds, and slip onto the jars. Put metal rings on empty jars in the case to keep the top edge from being nicked. Newspaper for padding on the top of the jars in each case. I moved from Idaho to Colorado with many cases of jars (mostly full) and not a single one broke. Another tip: save all the bubble envelopes you get in the mail and use them to pad your kitchen dishes. I had a box full of all sizes saved which came in very handy, even to slip small breakables into like glass pictures/frames.
If he is able to do so, your husband should negotiate having his company pay all or part of your moving costs. When we moved to Colorado from Texas, my husband’s new employer agreed to pay up to a certain amount. We rented a moving truck and moved ourselves. We sold one vehicle and I drove the other while my husband drove the moving truck. My best advice is to hire a couple of big strong men to help unload your truck when you get to the new destination — the U=haul company was able to refer us to a college professor who brought along two football players. They unloaded everything into our second-story place in about an hour and it was worth every penny we paid them.
Son 2 used Enterprise truck, He tossed or gave away everything he really didn’t want to spend the money to move, Son 1 did the same but he loaded in a Uhaul… so price things…. ask the company if they are helping with the money costs, keep track or what you spend, might be tax deductible.
Do NOT skimp of what you wrap things in or you will find things broke. A friend shipped a lot of her smaller stuff.
Lisa, whether moving yourself or being moved professionally, pack a box containing bed sheets, toilet paper towels and anything you would need immediately upon arrival. Label “open first”. It will really make that first night more comfortable.
We moved from the UK to Australia. My best advice to keep volume of stuff low and breakage to a minimum is 1 get rid of everything you can. It is easy to get replacements second hand or free if you are flexible and keep your eyes open. 2 wrap everything in clothes, sheets, napkins and towels. Keeps it safe and uses your own things as packing materials
\My best advice – pack an ‘essentials’ box to keep with you if you’re using movers. Our movers took a week longer then promised when we moved from LA to Seattle. Fortunately, we had kept our camping gear with us. So we had sleeping bags, bathroom essentials like towels and cookware with us. Best of luck on the move.
If the new company won’t pay for the moving expenses, I think you used to be able to write off relocation expenses for a job on your taxes. Might be worth checking into if you do have to pay for it yourselves.
Lisa, I had seen this suggestion on another blog (search “Six Figures Under Saving Money on a long distance move”) and told a co-worker of mine about it when he moved. He ended up using it and LOVED it – it was a lot cheaper and his family could all travel together rather than having someone drive a moving truck. Basically ABF trucking brings a truck to you and leaves it, you pack it up with your belongings, they add a wall to separate it from other freight and they just charge you on the amount of space you use. Then you make an appointment for when you want it ready at the destination. I think it is called U-PACK. Good luck!
I exchanged a toaster that stopped working after 1 month. Found 5 pennies on the ground. (the kids are still talking about how embarrassing that was).Brandy–I re-read your 40 cents a day series. I found it more effective this time around for some reason,. I ran our total budget #’s up until last week. I wanted to do this because I have been focusing on just the grocery budget not the whole. We were ok except for the purchase of the heat pump. While I did have the money to pay for it (previously earmarked for savings) I do tire of these unplanned impulsive purchases. Sigh….I also was not thrilled with my grocery expenses so I need to buckle up on that but at the same time rebuild our working pantry then the short term & long term pantry. Everything seems to have been gutted.
I harvested & froze string beans and beets. We ate fresh cukes. Had to replace both washers this summer but both breakdowns coincided with holidays (Memorial day and Fourth of July). Hit the sales for both. We could have postponed the 2nd washer purchase until Labor day at least since it is just for my husband;s work clothes but he did not want to share & somehow he ended up with a more high tech version than mine.
School starts this week. Locally I only have Riteaid and Family Dollar to shop at but my son had a Dr appointment with his specialist in the town that has a Walmart (1 1/2 hrs away) . Before we went shopping I checked out the prices & stock at Family $. Then I checked out what was available at home in my school supply closet ( a former linen closet filled with gifted school supplies from my out of state sisters). I also reuse anything from the previous year. Our family was also blessed to be recipients of school supplies from a local agency. The kids received new school bags (LL Bean) that were filled with various supplies. Did not need a lot of actual school supplies but did have to purchase clothing since 2 children changed sizes. Both boys are now the same size. Bought some extra but can share some shirts until I find some more. Other than that we replaced items mostly. Walmart was my best option. Garage sales here have crazy high prices, the prices at our children’s consignment store are above my price point and my thrift store has limited stock for kids clothes due to the consignment shop.
My son grew out of his work boots that were new last fall so this mom got herself some new boots for the garden. Sure beats fur lined winter boots in the summer!
Lisa, now I’m curious about what your husband does for a living that his clothes are so dirty they must be washed separately.
Coal miner? Cleans the elephant pen at the zoo? Removes the scent bags from skunks?
My mind is running wild. ?
Anne, I don’t know what Lisa hubby does but I have washed my own hubby’s clothes separate due to filthy dirt, barn crap (yes crap ) . A friend does his own separate because he works in a tire factory and has black soot on him a lot. It will stain.
My husband at the time worked multiple summers as a firefighter in the bush.
Those clothes you wash as separately as possible and throw them out at the end of the season.
Fire retardant is NASTY.
We moved 900 miles. We rented a truck through Penske, I signed up for AAA and got $400 discount on the truck. Well worth the cost of AAA. We had it for 6 days and packed and moved ourselves. We rented a tow dolly for my car and I drove dh’s pickup truck. It was something like $1400. Cheaper than all the other options I checked into. My parents had used upack.com and they were very happy with that. You buy space on an available big rig. They park it in front of your house for a few days and you load it and then they come and get it. It gets delivered when they are good and ready, which is why we did it ourselves. I also packed a cooler and we ate out of that. The only stuff we needed to buy was hot coffee and gas.
We got free transport of our stuff fromUK to Australia by a friend who was also traveling there. Only drawback was that we arrived in oz in June and our stuff arrived in October. But we managed great. Our daughter’s friends gave us loads of their cast offs. We picked up stuff from council pick up, side of road donations and lived like middle aged students for a few months. It was very liberating and taught us some good life lessons about what was really needed. In fact we felt a bit oppressed when all our stuff arrived, but we were able to be generous with others with our now doubles of things that we had.
Brought all breakfasts and lunches to work the days I worked.
We planted two different kinds of green beans – bush beans in the garden and pole beans in a raised bed that we had wire in. The ones in the garden are not doing well at all, but we are picking from the pole beans. My DH says we plant in volume incase something doesn’t come up well. We are also working on how we are going to garden as we age. He is 67 and I am 65. the raised beds seems to work well. We also have old barrels that tomatoes are in. They seem to work well too.
Picked a few cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes and regular tomatoes. Also picked carrots, chard, zucchini, cucumbers, broccoli, peppers, cabbage, green onions, the last of the lettuce and yellow onions.
Found a recipe for zucchini tots and made a batch to try on Monday. Really liked them, so, over the weekend made 100 of them. Froze on cookie sheets then put in a freezer bag and in the freezer.
On Sunday we made a ham we had purchased for 69¢ a pound from Winco in June for dinner with my mother. Also had salad with veggies from the garden, chard baked potatoes with broccoli from the garden.
Brought some plums home from church.
Had ham sandwiches for lunch with the leftover ham. Also put sliced cucumbers on them.
Had BLTs for dinner twice. A summer favorite.
My sister, her daughter and daughter’s two children (including a 2 month old) came and visited with my mother. I took cabbage, zucchini and garlic to my sister. Also took a loaf of zucchini bread to her and one to my mother.
Was able to get boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.49 per pound, on a one day sale at a local store. They seem to have this sale once a month or so. Didn’t stock up, but did get two packages.
Got cheese for 99¢ a package. Got two 8 oz. packages of shredded cheddar and three 6 oz. packages of shredded parmesan.
Made another double batch of zucchini bread.
Made a huge batch of what my DH calls “meatball special.” It is based on a recipe his Italian grandmother made. Meatballs, zucchini, potatoes, onions, green beans, carrots, peppers, and broccoli in it, along with garlic, parsley, basil and oregano. It is cooked low and slow in tomato sauce. I don’t care for it, but he loves it, so a couple of times a summer when I am overwhelmed with garden produce, I just throw it all in the crockpot. This is another one of his family “recipes” that was never written down, and would be lost. As far as we know, no one in the family makes it but me.
Good luck with finding a refrigerator. I dread looking for a new one, as I am in a small house, with a small kitchen, and only a single place for a refrigerator. It is basically a nook with cabinets above and on one side and a wall on the other side. Mine is now 23 years old.
Love the idea of freezing zucchini tots. I tried them for the first time this year & we like them. After putting away the latest batch of canned squash, I determined I wasn’t going to can any more this year. Now I know what to do with more of the squash. Thank you!
Brandy, it’s so wonderful to hear about your children following in your frugal footsteps!
I also had to buy a new refrigerator this week, but mine was over 20 years old! Yes, the newer models are wider and I’m having to also replace my microwave stand so that everything fits in the space I have. I ordered the new refrigerator and had $300 from a rebate. So with the sale price and that I came out well! If this one lasts anywhere near 20 years, I will come out very well!
I’m trying to get my house cleaning done a little at a time because I’m facing open heart surgery to replace a valve in early September. I’ll be recovering for about 6 weeks and my family will be taking great care of me. I don’t want them to have to deal with housekeeping chores too, so I’m trying to get some things accomplished. I just have to rest quite a bit in between chores! As soon as I get the new refrigerator set up, I’ll also make some meals ahead that I can freeze.
Our garden is producing tomatoes, peppers, squash, basil, oregano, sage, and parsley right now. I’m planning to make some salsa this week.
I also want to finish a baby quilt I’m making for a new little great-niece!
Our church is having a clothing giveaway this weekend which was a good reason for me to go through my closet to donate! My daughter helped me with this project and I bagged up 3 bags of clothes and shoes. She also ran the sweeper all through my empty closet before she put the clothes back in that I kept. Everything looks so perfect right now!! If only I can keep it that way!
Everyone have a wonderful frugal week!
Terri W Good luck with your surgery. Both Mother and Pop had that done in their 70s and did very well. Making meals a head will be a great help.
Wishing you a speedy recovery from surgery!
Brandy, we purchased a new upright freezer a few months ago which had less square footage than our old freezer. However, when it arrived, it took up the same space as our old freezer. I think it might be due to the extra insulation but it does make a big difference in keeping the food colder. I really miss the extra space inside though.
*As for my savings this week, it has been so hot I have spent less time gardening and more time catching up on other things.
*All I managed was canning 9 pints of green beans and 5 quarts of pickles but I did shell enough beans to float a battleship. I am also harvesting herbs before they bolt from the heat.
*I finally got around to renewing our library cards and spent a pleasant afternoon browsing through the books. It has been encouraging to hear other people mentioning how they use their local library’s resources. I need to do the same.
*Couponing has gone well but I am fighting the temptation to get things I don’t need if it is a killer buy.
*Walgreens – I made my list and ONLY got what was free that I could use. I got a tube of makeup, an eye-shadow pallet and some candy. I saved 98% WOW!
*Kroger – I picked up 5 packs of cheese for $.99 and two bottles of “Naked Juice” on clearance for $1.49. We use them because they fit perfectly in our lunch boxes. We fill the plastic bottles with our own drinks but our other bottles were finally wearing out. Bought nothing else.
*Dollar General – Everything I bought was on sale, on clearance or had a coupon except for a $1.00 bag of rubber bands. I saved 60 (something) percent.
*My biggest money saver this week has been experimenting making crackers and corn chips. I am looking for an extremely easy way and I have found it.
*Whisk one egg, 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 cup of (choose one) ground oats, corn meal or any other flour, ½ teaspoon salt and then add milk or water until the mixture is watery. Pour the mixture onto a big piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet that has an edge (or the mixture will spill off the side.) Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes, cool then peel one huge cracker or corn chip off the paper. I reuse the parchment paper and there is no need to wash the pan. This coming week I am going to experiment with different seasonings, toppings, etc. I figure one big cracker equals one of the small boxes of very expensive crackers.
Jeannie @ GetMeToTheCountry.Blogspot.com
Jeannie, I like that you are not having to roll the crackers. I will have to try your recipe!
The longer it stays in the oven, the crispier it becomes. My pan is warped so the dough runs to one side. Part of the cracker will be thicker and soft, the other side will be thinner and crispier. Family members can choose which side they want. I am also experimenting with using the self-timer on the oven. I pour the mix in the pan, stick it in the cool oven, set the automatic bake cycle, walk away while it cooks, then take it out later after it is cooled. I am really getting lazy.
Jeannie
Jeanie, thank you for the cracker recipe and how-to. I’m going to try that to use in place of chips for lunches!
I made it again last night using buckwheat flour and it turned out good also. We are trying different kinds of flour (oats, wheat, buckwheat, corn) and are surprised how different each one tastes. Next, I am going to try rice flour. I grind the oats in my blender but will use either a coffee grinder or my wheat grinder for other grains.
Let me know how it works out for you.
Jeannie
Jeannie, I am intrigued with your pourable cracker recipe. Could you please be a little more specific with the amount of water you use? How “watery” is it supposed to be?
Thanks!
Tejas, an impossible question! I just dump everything in. If I had to guess, it would be one cup flour to two or three cups liquid. It needs to be so liquid it spreads across the whole cookie sheet and is about 1/4 to 1/3 of an inch thick. If you make it too watery, just leave it in the oven longer. If your pan is smaller, use less batter. It should be much more liquid than pancake mix. I baked one last night for one hour just to see what would happen. It was hard enough to almost break a tooth but after it was dipped in salsa, it softened up and was fine. I also left out the egg because we had run out. It was fine without the egg.
I made another one tonight and my son Dustin stood at the oven and ate the whole warm cracker with jelly. He kept breaking off pieces and smearing it with jelly until it was gone. I never got a bite.
We haven’t bought any bread since I started baking these crackers. It has been too much fun experimenting! Feel free to keep asking me questions.
Jeannie
Jeannie, thank you! I would never have guessed to use that much liquid! I have been waiting to try this!
Tejas, with that much water it becomes almost papery thin and quite crispy. My husband likes them thicker and softer so for him I use less water. I have three racks in my oven so I am now making three pans of crackers and filling my oven full. It saves on electricity and keeps me from heating up my kitchen as often. The latest experiment was couscous crackers. I took a pot of leftover couscous, added water until it was runny, then made crackers. They didn’t have much flavor. I added salt, garlic, onion powder, and pepper and then it was edible…. (always remember, lots and lots of garlic).
Jeannie
Best wishes with your refrigerator search, Brandy. It’s very wise to be preparing ahead. We bought our small fridge used about 5 years ago and last year had to put velcro on the freezer door to keep it closed tight enough. One drawer has a broken corner, but it’s still hanging in there! Thanks to everyone for sharing. It’s a real blessing and encouragement to me and helps keep me motivated each week:)
*Our younger daughter and I are starting to think of fall decorations and plans for her 14th birthday coming up in September. Our older daughter moved back to campus this last weekend, and as it’s her senior year, she doesn’t plan to move back home after she graduates in the spring. One thing is certain…change is inevitable!
*We were gifted produce from my in-laws’ garden including an acorn squash, 3 butternut squash, green beans, and bell peppers. The bell peppers and green beans were frozen, and I’m considering freezing some of the butternut squash. I’m not confident my pantry will be the best environment for long storage so I may play it safe and freeze it. I plan to use the acorn squash this week with a meal and one or two of the butternut squash for vegetable lasagna.
*We managed to eat or freeze all the fruit before any went bad. If something gets pushed to the back of the fridge, then we sometimes have waste, but not this week!
*I had purchased a 10-pound bag of chicken quarters and boiled it in the big stock pot. After it cooled, I pulled it off the bones and chopped it all up. This has been used for supplementing the dogs’ dry food. Some of it was frozen as it made an ice cream bucket full.
*Instead of purchasing lunch meat last week, I bought a turkey breast and cooked it in the slow cooker. I tried to slice it, but it really just fell apart, although we won’t mind that in sandwiches and wraps. Some of this will need to be frozen as it was enough for 2-3 weeks I think. I do think it would be worthwhile to buy whole turkeys and whole hams around the holidays when they are at their rock bottom prices to store in the freezer for a meat source the rest of the year. I’m considering trying to get 12 of each and cook 1 turkey and 1 ham each month. We’ll see what the prices are in a few months.
*My husband had a birthday last week, and we celebrated as simply as we always do. We ate dinner with his parents, who live next door. They provided the pork loin and baked beans, and I made the potato salad with potatoes from our garden and German chocolate cheesecake. It was all very yummy! Our younger daughter is a very talented artist, and she drew pictures of the three dogs (two are still with us and one died 2 years ago) and then watercolored them. We bought a $5 frame to put them in. It was perfect, and he loved it! There’s a photo of this gift on my blog here: https://www.cozyhomemaking.com/frugal-homemaking-for-august-11-17-2019/
*We also found the house slippers he likes on clearance for $5. We gave him one for his birthday and stuck another pair back for when those wear out.
*I was pleased that my doctor wanted to cut my blood pressure pills in half starting last week, as apparently my lifestyle changes are having an effect. Hopefully I will be able to go off of them completely at some point, but for now I’m glad to take half. It’s a bit of a frugal win, as well, since the 30-day prescription now lasts 60 days so the cost is cut in half also.
*We sold the mini-fridge our daughter had at the dorm since she no longer needs it. We also sold the Instant Pot that I wasn’t using much. I was happy to free up room in the pantry. Received a $0.25 Ibotta rebate. Not much but all of that will go to savings so I’ll take it.
*Other little frugal things we did last week were using an empty dog food bag as a trash bag and hanging a load of laundry on the clothesline.
Jenny, that’s how I do the hams and turkeys. I get as many as I can.
Back when I had 2 of my husband’s army buddies living with us, I’d buy 10 – 12 turkeys and cut them up to make packets of meat I could use in soups, casseroles etc the rest of the year… then make all the stock possible from the bones. Same with hams. It was the only way to preserve my sanity and my budget.
Our current and prior fridges were both AMANA. I am very happy with them, however they are mostly clear plastic and the first one had to have a couple drawers replaced when delivered. I don’t know if your kids open the fridge a lot, but they might need to be more careful if you bought one. It has no icemaker, but it does have the freezer on the bottom, and it’s a drawer with a rack inside so there are two levels of storage. I feel like it holds an awful lot compared to the older one, and it’s pretty easy to see what’s in there. The only problem (I have to think back several years for this one)–is that kids can find the popsicles all by themselves! My grandaughter, being generous, gave them out to the entire neighborhood one day before I saw what she was up to. I don’t mind sharing, but I didn’t even know some of those kids. plus I had to get busy and make some more right away.
Our week was not the most frugal possible but it wasn’t bad either. With no garden at all this year, my spending hasn’t been horrible. It’s been $50-70 a week, with one week a month when I generally hit $100. This past week I hit $102, but I got $173. worth of groceries for that by using coupons, BOGO, and other sale items. I find sales are a better savings than couponing most of the time. I try not to buy certain things unless they are on sale, knowing that they go on sale regularly. That’s a 42% savings. I rarely save less than 20% a week–between 20 and 40 % is my usual weekly.
My husband wanted to go back to the Fair in the next county again, so we spent another day there. Even in two days, we didn’t see everything we wanted to! We did have a lot of fun seeing more of what we wanted to see, but left plenty that we didn’t get to also. I was able to see the “Creative Arts”–knitting, quilting, weaving etc. My Dad used to knit and crochet as therapy after the first of his 6 heart attacks, but he was still “Type A” about his projects too. He would stay up half the night to finish something he was working on. He did get some blue ribbons at the Fair for his knitting and crocheted items. He died from his last heart attack, in 1999. That fair is in the county I grew up in, adjacent to the one I live in now.
On the food front, I made a big batch of Black Bean Salad and that was our meal at least three nights last week–the first night just the salad and Tostido’s Scoops, the second and third nights as a side with some kind of meat along with it. Probably Italian sausage one night, can’t remember the other night. I know we had hamburgers another night, but don’t remember what else. I do know we ate every night, though.
My time was limited to the essentials because my husband wants to go, go, go when the weather is good. Happily we did have some rain but we have been out of granola for a week until I found time to make it today. And it doesn’t take much time to make granola either!! I had a couple days of arthitis trying to keep me down, too–walking was a problem but I did as much as I could. That doesn’t happen too often, thankfully. It usually stays in my hips and occasionally my knees but this time it hit my back and my neck. It’s better today. I can’t take anything except Tylenol, and I took that!
Tomorrow my sister has invited us to swim and have lunch so we will do that while weather permits. My other sister will also join us. About two more weeks of swimming weather and then the nights will be getting cooler and the pool cools off quickly. We might get to swim in September and we might not, so we’ll grab the opportunity to do so now while it’s a sure thing.
And I want to pick blueberries this week also, before the season ends for those. My daughter has badly broken some bones in her ankle and foot–three bones in fact, and is stuck in a cast and elevating her foot for about three weeks already. She just took her first “ride” this weekend–her husband took her for a car ride but she didn’t get out of the car. She is not allowed to bear weight until after her next x-rays Sept. 5th. She will get no blueberries in her freezer unless I enlist her Dad’s help with picking. He can do it but he usually leaves it to me! He will be needed to help so we can get enough for winter for her and us!
Ironically, she broke her foot while walking for exercise. Went a new route and kind of backed up over a cement edge marker and twisted her foot at the same time. She is mad at herself because she “messed up” the rest of her summer. It may take until Christmas to heal completely but will be easier on her once she can bear weight on the cast.
So that’s the frugal stuff from here–for better or worse, that was the past week!!
Hi everyone! It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over! 🙁
Here were our accomplishments for the week:
* Made soup using a variety of vegetables, broth from veggie scraps, and some pasta.
* Made more homemade honey wheat bread.
* Used some eggplants (that I had gotten in my CSA box) to make teriyaki glazed eggplant for my lunches. I don’t normally enjoy eggplant, but this was tasty!
* Used a head of napa cabbage (from a few weeks ago from my CSA box, again) to make Korean seasoned napa cabbage, which I also packed in my lunch (along with rice and a boiled egg).
* I made black bean quesadillas for my SO’s lunches.
* I made yogurt using whey from my previous batch. I used about 1/2 a cup of whey for 1 gallon of milk. It turned out very well, and I love that I don’t need to remember to save some of my yogurt. I just pop the whey into the freezer after straining the yogurt and I’m good to go.
* Made more homemade granola to go with the yogurt. I did the calculation, and it works out to 32c a cup, 40% less than store bought, with much less sugar.
* I did a small grocery shop at Aldi for a few things, to get us through the first week of September at least. Ideally, I won’t have to run to the grocery store before then, and hopefully a bit longer after that. I’m hoping to eat down some of our freezer in the process.
* Ordered my textbooks online from abebooks. I had 5 (5!!) books for 2 classes, but fortunately I was able to get them all (after ebates) for less than $135 total. I would have just rented these books, but they’re ones I would like to have for future reference, since they pertain to my future career.
* I took two surveys from my school, which allowed me to enter into a drawing for a $100 gift card twice. I normally do these surveys anyway (I’m a big believer in giving helpful feedback), so it wasn’t a waste of my time, even if I don’t win!
I hope everyone has a great week! Pre-academic-year activities start this week for me, so I’m going to be very busy from now until mid- to late- September, but I hope everyone else can enjoy the last bit of summer!
Sorry to hear you need to replace your refrigerator, Brandy!
Here are my accomplishments for last week:
• Used free tea and toiletries, washed ziplocks and foil and used ½ dryer sheets and ran only full loads in the washer and dishwasher during off peak times.
• Ate in 7 times. We had a chuck roast from the freezer that I cooked in the crockpot, with mashed potatoes and green beans and then leftovers another night; spaghetti with the roasted tomato sauce I made last week from the last of our tomatoes and 1 browned & crumbled Italian sausage; beef stroganoff made with leftover roast and gravy, to which I added a can of mushrooms and some sour cream with peas and noodles that I had in the freezer; frozen pizza; Hamburger Helper with cottage cheese and green beans; and steak with baked potato and corn on the cob.
• Worked 25 contract hours.
• Brought my lunch every time I went into the office. Hubby also brought his lunch to work all week.
• Hung 5 of 7 loads of laundry.
• Used our treadmill for free exercise.
• Read Chris Hogan’s book Everyday Millionaires by Chris Hogan (from Dave Ramsey’s company.) Inspirational!
• We purchased a Groupon for a trip to Germany next year with our best friends. And as I posted last week, we are going to Italy in November. We have been bitten by the travel bug! But years of frugality have enabled us to finally enjoy doing these kinds of things.
• Dad wanted to go out for lunch this week to Outback. But he gave me $20 towards our meal and I only ordered water to drink, so that saved me some money. He didn’t eat all of his steak and mushrooms so I took them home and froze them. I will use them in ramen noodles this week.
• 43 cans of Diet Coke at the office were out of date (August 4.) The office manager is a Diet Coke connoisseur and swore she could tell the difference. I tasted one and said I couldn’t taste any difference, so I was able to bring them all home.
• Won $4 in cash and a $30 gift certificate at our weekly league trivia night.
• We had a really hot week this week, but I worked in the office most days, so the AC stayed at 82 all day. I did have to pay for gas to get to the office, but at least it is a wash, since I was earning money too!
• Great grocery deals were 2 containers of ice cream, a bottle of salad dressing and a package of Oreos for free, peaches for 77c/lb, a bottle of gin and a bottle of Malibu Lime Rum, both on the clearance rack for ½ off and then I got Ibotta rebates on both. With clearance I paid $3.24 for the gin and $4.23 for the rum. The rum will go well with all that Diet Coke I got! Ha! Got a few other Ibotta rebates too.
• Used a free Get Well card from my stash to send to my cousin who had mouth surgery.
• Got a free necklace from Helzburg Jewelers. They sent us the coupon for my Hubby’s birthday. Put it in my gift box.
• Paid extra on the mortgage. Knocked another 3 payments off the end. We have now paid off 7 years of a 30-year loan in less than 2 years!
I hope everyone has a great week!
Laurie, I have to admit, I am not so sorry! I have been wanting a new fridge for a few years and have been looking at them at Lowe’s every time I had to go there for something! I couldn’t justify the expense when this one was working just fine, but now I don’t feel bad about it!
How wonderful to get a free necklace!
Congratulations on paying seven years off your mortgage! We hope to pay ours off early, too! I’m hoping my photography business takes off and allows us to pay off our mortgage by the time my husband is 65! It would have to really do well to do that, but that is my hope!
Where are you on your photography business? Anything for sale yet?
Hi Anne! I have started my business officially with the state but still have a few things to set up, including my new blog. You can check out my website here: https://brandysimper.com/
With as fantastic as your photos are on this website, I think your photography business will do wonderfully! Good luck!
Thank you Laurie!
Hello Everyone! This past week we continued to harvest tomatoes, peppers & zucchini. I made banana zucchini bread, froze half for future, roasted & pureed tomatoes for sauce and DH canned the peppers. I went to a friend’s party and brought a snack made with items I had on hand and bought her the $3.99 roses from Aldi. I added some flowers from the garden, put it all in a vase I bought for 50 cents at a yard sale & tied it with a ribbon from my stash. Pretty gift for under $5.00 & she was so happy with the bouquet. I found a skirt suitable for work (at the same place I bought the vase) for $1.00. Bought a metal measuring cup at an estate sale to use as a dog food scoop for 50 cents, and my favorite find were 2 brand new traveler style notebooks for 50 cents each! I have been looking at them online for awhile now but could never justify the price. 2 for $1.00 worked for me! I went online to check that the credit card we had transferred balance from went through & found that I had $10.00 in cashback so I transferred that to my checking account.
How nice on the notebooks! I love when that happens!
How wonderful you were able to take the family on a little excursion to the aquarium and Ikea, Brandy. A change of scenery and new things to explore are always fun! I love that both you and Winter have already started to buy Christmas gifts. Sounds like Winter is doing a great job gift shopping with her limited student budget! I definitely understand your inability to make gifts do to time restraints. I always love reading about what you give/make for your family, as it is so inspiring. I hope you will continue to share gift ideas, even if they were things you bought on discount, from garage sales and/or from thrift stores. They are still frugal gift ideas, no matter where they came from!
Our frugal accomplishments this week included:
*Meals made at home included breaded chicken fingers/patties with potato wedges, corn and beets (see below), “make your own” pizzas, waffles topped with strawberries & bananas (used up some fresh fruit that needed using) with breakfast sausages, tacos, chicken souvlaki with tzatziki sauce, green/yellow beans and flavoured rice, BBQ hamburgers & hotdogs with corn on the cob, and grilled cheese sandwiches.
*My mom cooked up the beets I pulled from the garden. DD had never tried beets before (the rest of us are not fans). To my utter surprise, she loved them and is asking if we can make more! In the fall, often there are large bags of beets on sale for very cheap at the grocery stores. I will watch for those and buy some to process them for the freezer for winter.
*Found a package of 4 ripe tomatoes on the clearance rack for $0.99. They were still quite firm, so I bought the pack. Our homegrown tomatoes are just starting to ripen, but not quite ready yet. These will fill the gap until the garden ones are ready.
*When I was off one morning this week, I made a nice breakfast for DD & I. We had crumpets topped with cheese, scrambled eggs with spinach and Hollandaise sauce. It was really good!
*Enjoyed a free lunch at work for our staff appreciation luncheon. We weren’t thanked as volunteers this time (long story, but we actually were thanked 2 years in a row as volunteers), so I was happy to be appreciated as an actual employee!
*Repaired 3 broken hooks on 2 bras, that are still in good repair otherwise. Much cheaper than replacing them!
*Not frugal, but had some dental work done this week. Had hubby drop me off, to avoid paying for parking. Also used his credit card, which gives us travel points. He will pay off the bill when it comes in.
*I shared an awesome find on stretch leggings, and offered to buy some for 2 co-workers, who then paid me back. The leggings were really good quality, quite warm for winter wear and 4 pairs came to only $9.05 with taxes. That’s $2.26 per pair! Both my co-workers just finished post-secondary schooling and have large student debts to pay off. They really appreciated the super cheap, but good quality pants to add to their wardrobe.
Have a wonderful, inspiring week, everyone!
Rhonda, how nice that your daughter likes beets! No Frills usually sells them for $2/10lb bag in the fall. I personally like to make pickled beets with them (incredibly easy — boil, add pickling solution, done!) with this recipe, but another version that I loved as a child was when my mother grated and boiled beets, and then stirred in apple sauce. Super-healthy, but tastes like a treat!
Also, where did you get your leggings from? I wouldn’t mind picking up a few at that price, to add to my fall wardrobe.
Whoops, here is the recipe! (http://approachingfood.com/everything-is-coming-up-beets-easy-mennonite-pickled-beets/) These also can well, so no need to eat that 10lb bag of beets asap!
I’m not sure if my daughter would like pickled beets. She can be funny about things like that. However, I have a pressure canner. I could can them with water using the pressure canner and they would last longer that way than in the freezer where they might get freezer burn.
As for the leggings, I bought them at a discount store that buys overage/returns/damaged box lots from big box stores. Most of it comes from Costco. Unless you want to do a drive to Lakefield, I don’t know where there is a place like this in Toronto. I do know there is a discount toy place in Toronto. I think it’s called Miko toys. It is only open in the fall, leading up to Christmas. I used to go every year for Christmas gifts for DD. Prices are amazing!
This morning I looked it up. The website, with this years ad and dates it opens is here: https://samkoandmikotoywarehouse.com/toronto-toy-sale/.
Thanks so much, Rhonda! I’m going to check it out! 🙂
Good luck with your refrigerator, Brandy. One good thing — your new one will probably be more efficient than your old one and you will probably see that reflected in your electric bill. My understanding is that refrigerators use the most electricity of all appliances (except air conditioning.)
We started the week with an expensive vehicle repair. My husband did what he could on his own, and we used a trusted garage, which gave us a 10% discount for being good customers, but still it came to almost $800. Ouch. But it had to be done.
We sold two items on Facebook and will use the money toward our trip to Oregon next month.
We had rain several days, so I was able to keep the irrigation turned off for 6 days.
We enjoyed mint, sage, thyme, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, green beans, chard, onions, and the last carrots from the garden. I had to pull up my winter squash plants because they succumbed to powdery mildew. I pruned back the zucchini, which had some affected leaves but is still blooming, in hopes of saving it. I seem to struggle every year to grow squash, but we love it, so I keep trying. I froze four bags of chard. My goal is to get 12-20 bags of chard in the freezer before winter.
I made a peach cobbler and froze 3 quart bags of peach slices from the flat of peaches we bought last week.
I mended a pile of dish towels. I patched some holes with flowers I cut from cloth. Now the cloths look cheery instead of drab.
I bought another dozen ears of corn and froze 3 more quarts of kernels. I froze two jars of roasted tomatoes in olive oil. I dried more thyme and sage. I canned 4 pints of green beans.
My husband and I picked plums at the state park and I attempted a batch of plum jelly — but it tasted so bitter I threw it out. I have no idea what variety these plums were, but they were not good! At least I started with a small batch of jelly, so was only out two cups of sugar.
Yes, I expect it will be. I have been looking at energy star appliances.
You might check with your electric company! Ours offers a $50 cash rebate if you replace your fridge or freezer with an energy star one! They also pick up and take away your old fridge for no charge!
Ours used to take away working refrigerators and give you money. It had to be working. They no longer have any kind of rebates for appliances (only for upgrading your a/c using specific companies).
I’m not sure if it is correct, but we were told when we had an energy audit, that after A/C, the dryer uses the most energy.
You may be right, Kara. I’ve never had an electric dryer, and I know Brandy has a gas dryer also. They don’t cost as much to run.
Good luck with the search for a new fridge Brandy – I know that you will get the best bang for your buck! And I love IKEA – there is one very close to where I live – I just go 3 stops on the subway and then the shop runs a shuttle bus every half hour so I catch that and get dropped right at the front door! I love to just have a wander round and it is great for indoor walking when the weather is bad! I’m planning on a trip next week as I want some salmon pieces and a few other odds & ends. I had planned to go on Saturday but got soaked while out for early morning groceries so gave it a miss.
Not too much new happening at the moment – feel as though things are a bit on hold until September. That has always been the “New Year” to me as the weather changes (as does our clothing) – the kids go back to school – and I actually want to get back into the kitchen! These last couple of weeks in August are odd as people ares till on vacation but we are all gearing up for the Fall. Many days are still extremely hot & humid but it’s been getting cooler at night and you can see some of the leaves starting to turn already.
Still trying to eat proteins from the freezer – the only meat I’ve bought in the past couple of weeks is some rotisserie chicken. It’s been mostly fresh fruit & veg along with whatever bargains I can find for the pantry. And having a stocked pantry was really brought home to me this week as we were made aware that one of the refugee families the church tries to help had pretty much run out of food. A lot of people contributed items and I was able to provide a full meal just from things in my pantry at no extra cost to me. The status of this family has been in limbo because of how they arrived but things are pretty much sorted now (church volunteers are getting the last of the required paperwork done this week) and things should now start to improve for them but the thought of a completely empty cupboard or fridge is quite terrifying – makes you think about just how lucky you are compared to some.
I bought myself a new “Planner” this week (August to August) but paid for it with a GC I’d received after making a complaint to customer service – it pays to speak up!
Finished off some paperwork that has been haunting me and sat down to make a real plan as to how to pay off a couple of debts as quickly as possible while still enjoying life – I always think a bit of balance is the key to getting through things. Too often I think we push ourselves to be all or nothing and in the end we fail and then feel nothing but guilt. Perseverance – something I’ve learned from many on this site – is really the way to go.
Ann (Ellie’s Friend) – I did check out Shoppers but didn’t see any of the Burt’s Bees offers but I know that they often have packaged items like that from various companies at this time of year as “back to school” offers so I will keep my eyes open. Hope everything went well with your last few days at the Archives.
I borrowed coolers from Son 2 so when I defrost the deep freezers I have enough coolers..
Thanksgiving week is 12 weeks from now SORRY to those not ready to hear that. I want to have room for turkey and hams. SO we are eating from the FREEZERS.
I started to make deviled eggs for a friends cookout, the egg white still were soft at 22 min of boiling so I made egg salad and apologized when I got there. Turned out a blessing as her hubby shoved the egg salad in the back of their frig so it wasn’t eaten… he then admitted he did it on purpose as it’s one of his childhood favorites and he wanted it for supper .
I had a diverticulitis attack on the heels of a Crohn’s attack.. exhaustion, dehydration and malnourished now … still was up to running errands after GI appt to restock some from Menards and Sam’s club. Tomorrow is primary so it will be Aldi’s and Walmart with a pit stop at Amish friend to see what his seconds in tomatoes is running and if he know of anyone with extra beets or green beans.
Ordered fabric for savings of 50% to make the last set (THANK HEAVENS) of the 32 curtains(16 summer, 16 winter) I’ve made for this house. Doing flannel lined with fleece.
Public school has started here. Amish start after Labor day.
Blessing on everyone
https://chefowings.blogspot.com/2019/08/where-does-time-go.html
We had a wonderful road trip to Montana last week. It was not cheap, but we saved money where we could. I packed pre-made sandwiches that I individually wrapped, cut up carrots, celery and peppers in individual portions, homemade cookies and other snacks and drinks from home. Although we only had a tiny mini fridge in the hotel room, we made it work. We usually stay at places with kitchenettes so that we can cook in the room, but the hotel that we love on the river in Missoula does not offer that. We ate the food from home for breakfasts, lunches and snacks. we only ate out for dinners. When my husband and I added up the amount we saved by bringing our own food, we were amazed.
-Now it’s time to tighten the finances agaain. We are looking for new ways to save, even little bits. I’m so thankful the this blog and all the comments each week that help me learn and give me new ideas and inspiration.
-Getting ready to re-open my eBay store. I closed for the summer to spend more time with my son, but I really felt it financially.
-Trying to sew everyday to get ready for craft shows. I don’t always make alot of money at these after the space fees, but it’s my chance to get out and socialize with other crafters and artisits.
-Looking for Christmas gifting ideas. Although my family appreciates unique or useful homemade gifts, my husband’s family has made it clear that they do not. In fact, some of them have told me that they do not want “things” for gifts, only experiences. A lot of people are feeling that way these days, but these relatives actually mean an experience like an expensive trip. We tried giving them gift cards to a restaurant, but they told us that the cards we give could only cover a portion of their meal. They would like the entire meal covered. It saddens me.
-Hope everyone has a great week!
A gift is a gift! They are basically saying you are not spending enough!
Have you considered not exchanging gifts with extended family? Perhaps let them know that you will not be participating in gift exchanges any more due to finances. They are not obligated to gift anything to you and you will not be gifting anything to them.
My husband’s family is quite large (over 70 grandchildren). Even during lean years for many family members, his family insisted on doing $5 per person gift exchanges. Those were years we were lucky to spend $5 per child on our own children. They said my least favorite words, “It’s only $__”. We told them we couldn’t afford to participate. We thought they would understand, as some of them were even unemployed at the time, but they did not. We opted out anyway and left before the children’s gift exchange (which always started around 8 or 9 p.m. anyway, and we had a drive home to get our children in bed, so we just said it was time to go home and get our children in bed).
I think family, especially, should be understanding that you don’t have a budget that can cover gifts to everyone, but unfortunately, they aren’t always that way.
I don’t believe in going into debt for gifts for one’s close family, let alone extended family. I’m sorry your family isn’t understanding.
Totally with Brandy on this one. Tell these selfish people you are OUT of the gift exchange.
Brandy, I like the idea of opting out of gift exchange, but that would create a lot of drama… so I doubt it will happen. It’s just not worth the emotional stress for my husband. There are a lot of family dynamics in play. I was thinking about sending a food gift, mostly homemade….maybe a “gourmet food expereience”? You are right that “a gift is a gift”, and I have to remember that it is not my fault if the recipiient is less than gracious.
Susanmarie in the Pacific Northwest
Susanmarie,
As Brandy has said, a gift is a gift. Having said that, my second thought was give them a home-made food item. Christmas cookies for example that can be enjoyed or served to other guests. I had a problem with a friend who kept giving me trinkets and stuff at Christmas. I had run out of shelf space (I was living in an open space with little wall space). I believe in being totally gracious about gifts I received. So I was in a quandary; I waited six months and mentioned that I had no more room for anything (which was literally true). When asked what I wanted, I said chocolate would be wonderful. So the next Christmas, she gave me trinkets again. That was the only gift I ever commented on. I love it when friends give me small gifts, a dozen cookies I can eat, a pie, jam or jelly, even a book (because I can recycle it once read). My best friend gave me a spoon rest or tea bag rest made in Italy, very inexpensive but lovely.
I think your relatives are totally ungracious. I cannot believe they said they’d like the whole meal covered. It is truly, not your fault if the recipient is less than gracious. I had /have a niece who ranks right down there — first when she was young, I gave her a very lovely journal (from Gallery Leather, Bar Harbour Maine — the company makes exquisite leather bound goods). It was pink. She said thank you but she’d rather have green. I gave her a beautiful designer Coach purse, partly in green. It was the wrong shade of green. Both items were on sale but were great bargains. And so on it went. I continued to give her gifts and as she got older she stopped thanking me for anything. This past Christmas she actually sent me a thank-you note (after a mere ten years) but even that was “damning with faint praise” so to speak. It is not your fault if someone is an ungrateful boor. When we received gifts from grandparents and others on Christmas Day, we had to go in our room and write heartfelt thank-you notes. We had to talk to our relatives by phone and thank them (without being solicited for a thank you). Even if you hated something, you had to say thank you with sincerity and NEVER say you hated it. Funny, I cannot remember ever hating anything I was given. I always thought it was special to receive ANY gift. My grandfather gave me a book of poetry that had been his mother’s in 1905 and was inscribed with her name. He had paperclipped a dollar bill to one of the pages — I loved the book and realize it was probably a struggle for him to send a dollar. I gave the book to my great niece when she was born. Her mother, my nephew’s wife was thrilled. Why? Because when her family immigrated to Canada, they could not bring any of the family books with them.
So I think your idea of a gourmet food basket of usable, consumable items, perhaps many homemade is a good idea. And then if you get criticized for that, quit the gift exchange, tell them you’ll make a donation to the local food bank so someone can appreciate the kindness of a gift. It is truly the thought that counts.
I sympathize with your dilemma, Susanmarie. One way to try to accommodate their wishes and your financial needs might be to give groupons for experiences or meals. I’m actually taking my sister out to dinner this Saturday using a groupon. I spent $14 to get a groupon worth $30 for an Ethiopian restaurant, which is enough for two generous meals (and likely leftovers). Going out for Ethiopian would definitely count as an ‘experience’ for most people! You could pay for the groupons using Swagbucks (redeem for paypal or for Visa gift cards) or earn a bit using rev.com. And of course go through ebates for money back when buying groupons.
That said, I think if you explain that you’re on a budget for Christmas, and then give a gift from the heart, whatever that gift is, you have covered all your ethical and moral obligations. You aren’t responsible for someone else’s reaction to your gift.
And one last thing, to say that a gift card that was gifted to you isn’t enough to cover their dinner, and they want a larger gift card? I think that’s extremely rude, and I would not feel bad about it. Their thoughtlessness reflects poorly on them and not on your gift-giving.
Best of luck!
Food of any sort is definitely an “experience” gift! My family has organically (coincidentally) all moved to consumable gifts — food, nice lotions, candles, etc. It means no clutter for those of us who live in very small spaces and it’s a decadent experience for the senses — delicious food I didn’t have to buy or cook! higher quality lotion whereas I always buy mine at the grocery store, etc.
It also accommodates a variety of budgets — people can buy expensive food, etc, or they can make delicious food or homemade soap if they prefer. It’s also time saving, because you could make a huge batch of something — whether caramel corn or soap — and give to all.
Brandy, our extended family consists of my sister and her family. We stopped exchanging about 30 years ago. (We gave to our parents when they were alive). I have never given to neighbors and friends. My husband and I give to each other and to our two adult children and daughter-in-law (there are no children). Now everyone gets 3 gifts, including a homemade gift with an Amazon gift card taped or pinned to it! I have no talents beyond basic cooking and basic sewing, but there are plenty of things I can make (and I appreciate your gift-a-day series, although I do one a month…in a good month, LOL). The Amazon cards make up for a lot, LOL. BTW, we stopped exchanging with my sister because she made it clear, once too often, that my gifts weren’t really appreciated for one reason or another.
I agree with Brandy. No one gets to dictate what kind of gift you give – a gift is voluntary and should not be expected – by anyone. I would suggest this year you tell that side of the family that you will not be exchanging gifts – you could offer to make a donation in their name but it doesn’t have to be cash. As my late mother used to say “no one can take advantage of you without your permission”. My elder brother and his wife had children before I did and my sister-in-law tried to tell me every year what to get her children for Christmas and birthdays. When I had my first child all of a sudden this same SIL decided “no one needs anything” and the gift exchange ended that year. Try it. No explanations needed.
I wish I’d read this before I commented above. Your experience with your sister was EXACTLY what happened to me!
Hi, Susanmarie! I totally approve of just bowing out of the gift exchange entirely, but if that causes too much stress, you might try looking a little further afield on the “experiences” front: I don’t know where you are in the Pacific Northwest, but I’m in the Olympia area, and routinely take out-of-town visitors to Reign FC games (usually using a groupon), on the Theo Chocolate Factory Tour, or onto the Bainbridge Ferry. (If you walk on, you only pay one way, and you can walk into the little town of Winslow for window-shopping and ice cream. On the way back, there are spectacular views of downtown Seattle.) These experiences run me between $10 to $15 per person. That definitely isn’t free, but it’s not nice-dinner-out expensive, either. I also have purchased Discover Passes ($30) as gifts for entire families. Depending on your area and budget, there can be some nice options–and there’s nothing wrong with giving a $5 gift card to one of those DVD rental boxes and a bag of popcorn.
Heh. A one-way ticket on a ferry sounds like a perfect gift for greedy recipients. Still chuckling here…
What unbelievably bad manners! I would definitely opt-out, no matter the consequences. Your finances are yours alone to handle. if they don’t like your gifts, maybe politely tell them you’re very sorry, but you’re unable to accommodate their wishes for experiences. I cannot beleive they were so rude as to tell you your gift cards were not enough.
It is not very often that my jaw literally drops, but reading about the folks who are so ungracious about gifts did it. Even if I don’t care for a gift, I am appreciative that someone thought of me and I can usually pass it on, donate it or sell it at a garage sale so nothing is lost. I am very assertive so it would be difficult for me not to say I would no longer be giving any gifts and why. You are probably a nicer person than I am, so I am doubly sorry you are being treated this way.
No a frugal week because I had yet another spate of unexpected car expenses totaling $495. That, couple with the repairs to my car last week of over $1000 and my acct is looking rather pitiful. Yesterday, I decided to open up a saving account specifically geared to certain expenses. I am putting in $50 a month. It will not cover all expenses in this category, but it will certainly help. Otherwise, I continued to do my usual things. I cut and dyed by own hair. The dye cost me $1.50 on sale. I did my own nails. I walked. I brought my lunch to work. I am trying to use all the fresh produce, eggs, cheese etc. in my fridge, and I am doing fairly well. using everything up.
Margie from Toronto
How wonderful that your church has a refugee family to sponsor and help! I think the Shoppers Burt’s Bee special was only available instore (not advertised) and who know maybe only in the west.
I went to a potluck barbecue at our church and was told that I needed bring anything. So we greatly enjoyed corn (from BC not AB since90% of the lovely Taber corn crop was destroyed due to hail), hamburgers, hotdogs, great salads, etc.
Yesterday, I found a way to get out to my friends’ house just beyond the City limits. I took hummingbird photos. l didn’t get the desired male Ruby-throated with its bright red gorget but all the other photos turned out well. As usual, the last two photos were the best — a little rufous hummingbird at the tiniest type of fuschia blooms. I had hoped to go again today but just cannot swing it — and tomorrow I head to the printers so we can get an estimate, make a budget so we can apply for grants next week. Luckily, the birds were mostly at eye level as I still cannot lift my arm very high. Today the arm is agony…
There are only 5 more days to access the archives before the big move. I now have a printed copy of the draft and will be going over it tonight to ask any
remaining questions in the couple of days. There will still be grant applications, editing, proofreading and a few footnotes to tidy up. I am reclaiming my life, though, and my time.
Thanks Margie for your wishes. Ann
Brandy,
I know how difficult it is to replace a fridge. Only 1 model would fit the space in the kitchen. Belated congratulations on Winter’s Pell grants.
That should read I was told I didn’t need to bring anything to the barbecue..
Thank you to all who gave me bean recipes! Question: What do you put on green bean plants when there is something making holes in the leaves?
My best friend’s parents offered us tomatoes and apples. This past weekend my family hosted our yearly two-day computer party. With all the changes this year many activities we had to say “not this year” and I was so glad we got to do this one. My husband and older boys played computer games with friends. The younger kids and myself hung out with other moms and young kids. We served taco bar both nights loved by all! Everyone brings items to share. It was nice eating special treats I don’t usually buy.
I used diatomaceous earth on my bean plants which helped greatly.
Brandy I too combine errands when we go out as we live at least half an hour one way to the nearest town when we go shopping and it saves so much in fuel and time. It gives new meaning to the word of being organised and not forgetting things. I hope your chosen refrigerator comes on special shortly and how wonderful both you and Winter have been able to pick up bargains for gifts for everyone. Good on the boys for doing summer jobs to earn themselves some money too.
Our savings last week added up to $107.03 :).
In the kitchen and adding to the pantry –
– Cooked all meals and some bread from scratch. The other times we ate discounted bread rolls we bought on clearance.
– Increased our food storage by a carton of powdered milk, 32 tins of smoked chicken and 5 tins of lychees while monthly grocery shopping and I am under budget by $36 for the month.
Home organisation-
– DH took down one set of venetian blinds that weren’t working and installed 4 curtain rod holders and rods.
– I made two sets of curtains from fabric purchased for $3 metre on special from Spotlight one for the kitchen door and another set for the top of the stairs in the rumpus room which I put up and put the curtain ends on the rails. The one in the kitchen will stop the heat escaping when the slow combustion fireplace is going so the cat can get outside. By making them we saved so far $28.80 over purchasing them.
Internet listings and earnings –
– Made $31 from the sale of a lace curtain we no longer need from the home as I have replaced them with new cotton ones to keep out the summer sun.
– Listed 10 items on eBay on a free listing promotion saving $16.50 on usual listing fees.
Purchases & Fuel –
– Purchased 120.5 lts of fuel using our RACQ e-gift card giving us 5% off and took advantage of our 4 c per litre everyday rewards saving us $12.53 on usual prices. We only fill up when we have 4 empty jerry cans at home as they strap (ocky strap) better into the boot of the car without falling over and we last purchased fuel 2 months ago.
– Purchased 5 x 6pk of white and wholemeal bread rolls and a loaf of bread for $1.25 on clearance saving $4.50 on usual prices.
– Bought 32 tins of smoked chicken from Aldi to top up the pantry with saving $3.20 on prices in other supermarkets.
– Got 3 free samples (a packet of spaghetti, almond and apricot cream cheese, and a cauliflower soup) as I am a taste tester for a supermarket saving $9.75 over purchasing them.
– Bought our usual grocery staples and probiotics for the month saving $21.75 by picking up specials.
– As DH had his eye on a leather hat for sometime we decided to buy it and by asking if they could do a better price we saved $10 on the usual price.
Hope everyone had a wonderful week as we did.
Sewingcreations15 (Lorna).
IKEA. I am fascinated by their use of space. In the one near me they had an entire apartment packed into a tiny space. My daughters share a room. When they got older we put them into the master bedroom so they could have more space, but one likes order and the other likes to spread out, and then privacy became an issue. Inspired by IKEA my husband built two 7 x 7 cubbies with pocket doors at the end of the room. Enough space for a twin bed, a dresser, a chair and room to change in privacy or study with headphones on. The rest of the room became a common area, family room with bookshelves, a couch and chairs, and television. With the master bath, it’s almost as if they have their own tiny Paris or NewYork apartment. They love it and if we ever move, it could all come down in an afternoon.
Took a trip with my daughter through Indiana. We drove back roads and stopped in Amish communities. We toured the Gene Stratton Porter house in Rome City, attended a flea market and an auction, went thrifting, blueberry picking, and for long swims in the hotel pool. It was lovely. For food we stopped at a Kroger for shelf stable supplies, enjoyed free breakfast buffets, split an Olive Garden entree to go, and got sandwiches from local bakery and grocery store deli counters. I wasn’t sure how mobile I would be, but my daughter rigged up a space in the back of the mini van where I could lay down flat and do my physical therapy when I needed to. It worked really well, and I was able to do so much more than I thought I could. We found some great deals on bulk foods and a butcher where we can order meat by the half or quarter in the future.
Stacey, we lived in northern Indiana when my husband was in seminary. I loved the Amish stores, flea markets and roadside stands. It was a lovely time and so different from our suburbia, I would go back in a heartbeat!
Hi all,
Keeping at it in small ways. Some frugal successes were:
* took cuttings from my pothos and set them to root in a vase of water
*found some loose change and added it to the change jar
*cleaned and reused ziplocs
*combined errands to save gas
*enjoying the digital library lending using the library extension on Chrome, so that if I look up a book on Amazon, it will tell me if there is a kindle version available to borrow at my library. I read A LOT, so my virtual library card is getting quite a workout.
*discovered that my blu ray has music access through Pandora and so I have been listening to music that way, while working on the computer or just to have something peaceful in the background. I created a Gregorian Chant station and it is glorious.
*turning off the AC overnight and using fans
*unplugging the washer and dryer when not in use (extra peace of mind with the daily lighting/storms we get down here)
Brandy, my fridge is 13 years old and I have had to replace parts for it as well. It’s actually 6 inches too wide for the space and sticks out into the doorway between the living and dining/kitchen area, but it works and it came with the house, so I am making do as long as possible. I hope you find what you need. At least the timing should coincide with the Labor Day sales. Wishing a wonderful week to all.
When we moved to this house, we gutted most of it. We put the fridge in where there was a desk. We put a cabinet around our fridge. Our fridge was the largest we could find at almost 26 cubic feet, so we figured we were fine. Now they still have fridges that size, but they are 36 inches wide. Ours is 33 1/2 inches wide. The refrigerators that size are 22 cubic feet. It’s a bummer, but we’ll have to work with it.
I made peach freezer jam from a gifted 20# box of peaches. Gratefully accepted an enormous watermelon, which I will share with my neighbors.
Moved our daughter back into the dorm. As she unpacked, she brought home the bits an pieces she no longer needed, and our older daughter and I went through and picked out things that we would use.
We picked up a free TV stand/cupboard. I am thinking of painting it, and selling it as a storage bench.
I am returning an item that has not held up.
My daughter returned a purse to Target, The straps where coming off after only one use.
My husband joined the local Time Bank (I was away for the mandatory orientation. The next one is already on my calendar). He has done some gardening and furniture moving for others, and already has 7 hours in the time bank.
Thank you, everyone for sharing a bit of your lives. I absolutely love reading everyone’s posts.
The older I get the more I realize there are seasons in life. There are seasons when we have time to make homemade items and seasons we need to shop smartly and buy sale items for gifts. Good job on knowing what season you’re in! This week’s frugal accomplishments were:
*Meals made were burgers with peas and mac & cheese, pizza with chips, bbq chicken thighs with roasted potatoes and cauliflower.
*Cancelled my free trial of Amazon Prime before it renewed.
*Returned a pair of shoes that I had ordered that just did not seem to be good quality.
*Scheduled appts in town on the same day to save gas. Also donated to a school supply drive one office was having using supplies I purchased on sale.
*Used a coupon and $10 in ECB’s at CVS to get allergy meds for free. Also earned another $5 in ECB’s.
*My husband attended a work conference for three days. His lodging and meals were all paid for. I ate leftovers from the freezer for meals so I didn’t have to cook any!
*Walked with a friend for free fellowship and exercise.
*Hung 2 of 3 loads of laundry to dry inside.
*Cleaned out my freezer above the fridge. I did throw out a few things (ham bones, frozen soured milk). I just wasn’t using these up and it was bothering me every time I ran across them. I figured I’d rather throw them out and create more space in the freezer and less stress in my life!
*Harvested 7 banana peppers.
*I haven’t been good about using my reusable grocery bags and I realized it’s because they looked so grungy. I washed them this week. They look and smell so good. I will be sure to use them now.
Last week, I spent a lot of time working with my niece and nephew, more than usual. This will translate into a little extra $ next paycheck, which will be welcome. I took my nephew to the library to do the end-of-the-summer-reading party, where he played and got his free book. One day, when we had them for extra time, I made sugar cookies in the shape of a train, and let them decorate them with icing and sprinkles. Pictures are on my blog: http://beckyathome.com
I did homeschool with my daughter during early mornings, and time in-between caring for the kids.
We took a trip at the end of the week. My sister took us on a 3-night trip. It was amazing what she managed to plan for those few days. She invited our family, and another family along. The job I had was to bring food for us all. After she paid for the hotels, activities, etc., she wanted to have us cook the majority of the meals at the beach house she rented to save where we could. We were a large group (our friend has 7 children), and it would have been too expensive to eat out every day.
I have spent several weeks carefully planning and shopping for this trip. I have purchased every loss leader I could, added in bulk food from Costco, and Cash and Carry. and cooked and froze food ahead. I generally cook 90 meals a month for the 3 of us that live here, plus quite a few extra for people who drop in, or I take food to. On this trip, I was responsible for over 90 meals for just the weekend! Although it did cost me something, It was a lot less than it would have been, had I not taken such care. I could have done even better, price-wise, had I not needed to make sandwiches so many times. But, we chose to do picnics instead of eat out several times, so I’m still pleased. She paid for all the tickets and lodging. I was happy to pay for our gas and the food.
We went to the southern Oregon Coast and rode the jet and mail boats up the Rogue River. It was a 52 mile trip up, and a 52 mile trip back down. The scenery was amazing and it was very fun the the boat driver made circles in the river, spraying water up and all over. The kids loved that part! We packed a picnic and did not choose to eat at the lodge, which was encouraged by the tour group, of course, but they graciously allowed us to picnic. Then we went to a beach house she had rented an hour north, and spent the additional 2 nights there. On Monday, we went to a wild game park, where the kids got to pet many animals and see many others. She treated us to Mo’s (an Oregon Coast restaurant that is well-known and a favorite of ours) on the way home. It was fun! We are dragging today, but full of memories galore:). I’m going to post pictures of our adventures soon.
FYI for the Canadian Readers – my local No Frills is doing some renovations and I thought that was the reason so many things were on sale (and why so many items were down to one or two left) – but one of the cashiers was telling us that its also because so many items are being discontinued and they want to sell them off. I have noticed some of the US readers mentioning that places like WM are doing the same thing. I suspect that when the shelves get restocked the packaging will be smaller but the prices will be the same (if not higher)!
Tonight I picked up brown rice and couscous at about the third of the regular price. I don’t eat a lot of carbs these days but I like to have them in the pantry for when I do want/need them. I’m going back tomorrow morning with my bundle buggy to see what else I can pick up so it might be worthwhile checking out your local store over the next few weeks.
Thanks for the suggestion, Margie. I suspect that the packaging will be smaller — effectively a price increase.
I bought a cranberry juice las week and I noticed a smaller bottle than the usual size. I will. be going to No Frills next week. Thanks again.
Also for Canadian readers,
IGA (at least in the West has a 10 pound box of B.C. freestone “canning” peaches for $9.99. I don’t think I’ve ever seen
any peaches for $1 a pound here.
Not much on the frugal front here this week. My grandson fell and landed on his pencil at school, and required stitches in his hand. y husband missed 2 days of work to care for the grand kids while I was in the hospital for a cardiac procedure. I did make chicken salad for a baby shower with ingredients I had on hand. I cooked multiple meals one day this week allowing everyone to chose what they wanted. for several days. Spaghetti, hamburgers, sausage with waffles. It made for an easy week and only used the toaster and microwave to heat up their choices, keeping the house cooler. I hope to have more energy soon, so next week will be better. Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement every week
Brandy, refrigerators are taller too. They have kind of a fake front that rises up, we found. My husband had to remodel the cupboard over the refrigerator so that the cupboard doors could still open when we bought our new fridge.
I never get my post finished so here goes. We did all the usual of recycling, composting, mending, cooking at home, eating at home, gardening, carpooling, I just finished my two months of summer off but when I wanted to go in to work for a day I could ride along with youngest daughter. She has been working filling in as the church/school secretary for the summer. Soon the regular secretary comes back and then Olivia will start her teaching job in the school. Sweet corn and tomatoes have really come in the last 2 weeks so the farm stand has been very busy.
Besides canning and freezing our produce we’re busy trying to use it at best in every meal. Some of the things we have cooked and baked over the last month: white bread, rye bread, blueberry muffins, banana bread, zucchini bread, chocolate zucchini cake, tuna macaroni shell salad, coleslaw and cucumbers salads, 4 bean salad, taco dip, vegetable pizza, hummus, dill dip, 7 layer salad, peach kuchen, raspberry kuchen, cherry kuchen, zucchini bread, zucchini bars with cream cheese frosting, zucchini cheese tarts and mushroom zucchini and asparagus tarts…these are crustless quiches basically. We have grilled out many meals of the fish my husband has caught, along with vegetable kabobs and other grillable items like jalapeno poppers and garlic bread. We also grill brats and hamburgers and rarely chicken. Most of the chicken we use is spent laying hens so we usually stew those rather than grill. With both girls here one night we made a double batch of peanut squares. That’s kind of labor intensive so help is nice. Then we individually wrapped and froze 1/2 of them. We made regular and meatless sloppy joes, pizza, BLTs. I cook a lot differently in the summer…no soups or stews or casserole. I like to have a variety of cold salads and deserts ready to go along with our sandwiches or burgers. I did us up my last 2 quarts of frozen tomatoes to make a large batch of spaghetti sauce adding onions, zucchini, peppers and herbs from the garden.
We had a big spaghetti dinner with everyone over, almost everyone, because Markus and family are 1 1/2 hours away. That’s not too far but far enough for impromptu get togethers. I miss them, but I know that he has blended well into her extended family and that is a blessing.
Oh my, I turned 58 this year. My sister and I celebrated out birthday together (we are twins) along with our mother. We went to the county fair where my sister lives, sounds strange, but we were all in 4H and my mother used to be a judge at the fair for sewing. There are many beautiful quilts at this fair as many Amish in the area. We had fair food for lunch, browsed the animals and watched the 4H fashion show. It was fun. My mother went home with my sister to spend a week with her family. Petronia and I each celebrate our birthday separately with our own families but we usually figure out a way to have a little day on our own.
Read many good books this summer. I am enjoying the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear. Maisie was a nurse in WWI and now is a private investigator. The books take place in the 30’s with many flashbacks and is now building up to WWII. Also good was THE DAY THE WORLD CAME TO TOWN: 9/11 IN GANDER< NEWFOUNDLAND by Jim DeFede. Both good were THE VICTORY GARDEN by Rhys Bowen and THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN by Kate Morton. I read MARY POPPINS for the first time. WONDER by RJ Palacio was excellent. I read GONE=AWAY LAKE and RETURN TO GONE=AWAY by Elizabeth Enright, the author of THIMBLE SUMMER that I have recommended before.
Been doing smaller canning projects such as red relish (beets), sweet pickle relish, pickled grape tomatoes, blackberry jam, giardiniera. These are easy enough to do just a canner load in the evening. Days are so much shorter already and we have been in the 50's at night. We are only 67 F today. I feel summer slipping away fast.
I will check out your book recommendations! I requested several books from the library but most are months away as there are so many people in line in front of me.
It’s going to be 110 here this week, so I’m looking forward to cooler temperatures, but they’re nowhere near yet! We won’t start seeing 67 degrees until the second half of November. We’ve often eaten Thanksgiving dinners outside.
Athanasia: I had forgotten about the two “Gone Away Lake” books! Read them as a child. The characters are rather like those in one of my husband’s favorite plays, “You Can’t Take It With You.”
I haven’t read “Mary Poppins”, but recommend the original “The Hundred and One Dalmatians” by Dodie Smith. The Disney movie had the main points, but the book has wonderful dog characters, even more than the main story dalmatians.
For the last month or more, the local small-chain hardware-farm store in town has posted on its outdoor sign “We Have Mrs. Wages.” I don’t can or pickle food, but I know from reading here that that is an excellent thing.
I am sorry to read of the Christmas gift giving frustrations that people face, discussed above. Now is the time to make positions clear about what to expect in December, so then everyone will have had time to work through any related emotions and enter the holiday season with right hearts.
Won a gift certificate in a drawing for people who donated children’s books to my chiropractor’s book drive for area children. A nice surprise there!
Most else is routine here: running ceiling fans instead of AC, planning meals carefully, shopping only when necessary, reading library books.
Visited some yard sales today with slight success of a few books and a dress. Saw a framed signed that has made me think and though I didn’t buy it, I might make my own: What if when you woke up today, you had only the things you thanked God for yesterday?
We just closed on a triplex house on Thursday. We are living in the downstairs two apartments while we make repairs to the larger upstairs apartment. He turned the water off to the hose outside because we don’t use it often and a certain toddler thinks it’s fun to turn on the first chance her gets. Our plan is to move upstairs ASAP and rent the bottom two apartments out. They also need some minor repairs. My husband turned down the water heaters for the downstairs and then turned the upstairs one off completely since we don’t use the upstairs.
I made sandwiches for my husbands lunch all week (this is new since he just started a new job after being self employed for a very long time, and would usually spend about $5 a day).
My husband pulled the carpet off the stairs in the foyer because it’s old and gross, and we were happy to discover it’s beautiful stained hardwood underneath and so we won’t need to replace the carpet.
My husband also put in our new to us stove which we bought used for only $50 at a yard sale (we haven’t had a working stove in two months, I’ve been grilling most of the time). We baked pizzas in that my sister brought over last night (I watched her two kids for a couple hours while she worked so she provided dinner).
I went to IGA and bought the ten pounds of peaches — they look lovely! IGA also had lovely pieces of deveined liver for about $2.50. I bought a pizza and got one free. I then was picked up by a friend who lives nearby and who had invited me for lunch. She made potato soup for lunch which was lovely. I had a good visit with her.
Our last few weeks we re not frugal as we had a sick cat. Our 13 year old rescue Koko developed kidney stones that blocked his bladder. He had an expensive surgery, came home and them another stone appeared. We hoped he would pass it, but he didn’t and was declining fast, stopping eating and drinking. We made the difficult decision to put him down rather than put him through more surgery and continuing pain. Our other younger cat is adapting but we will eventually get another. probably rescue cat as they provide companionship to us.
I left the following day for my monthly trip to Kaktovik where I serve as their pastor. It was hard to go, but good to be away where the emotional pain was not as hard. It is nanook time there where the polar bears are very close to town. One day people were wondering why the Senior Van was not running for awhile. The driver had a mother and cub sleeping under her house. Definitely not safe to leave her children alone! The hotel has a scope that enables us to watch the nanooks.
After I flew back, my husband indicated he was finally willing to go through our main freezer after 4 years. We cleaned it out of things we had been given, mostly moose liver and a few other things. We found we have a lot of moose burger which is good in chili and will be part of our winter meals. We donated everything to an animal rescue where the owner supplements the dogs food with these items cooked up. Much of the food was too old to be desireable. Cleaning it out enabled us to realize what we have. I made a large kettle of beef soup with older meat. With onions and garlic and garden vegetables we are enjoying delicious meals this week! We could not find any beef bones for less than $5.00/pound, so it is missing that! We buy what are called “petite” sirloins that we use as steaks, stew meat, and soup meat when they are on sale. With freer freezer space, we were able to add several packages for winter.
Thank you Brandy and readers for your frugal ideas. We will soon be packaging and freezing celery for winter meals. Last year we managed to not buy any celery which we like to add to soups, stews, and pilafs. It grows well and adds more vegetables to or diet.