Life has been very busy for me lately, leaving little time to post.
I found an antique mahogany table on Facebook Marketplace. I thought the price was a bit high. We came to an agreement at $30 (it was listed for $50). This was the style of table I had been wanting in my entry. I have had a “temporary” table there for a decade that my mom gave me, which was slightly smaller and a bit different style. I took that with me to the refugees and immigrants food distribution where I volunteer, and someone wanted it, so I got what I finally wanted and my table went to someone who needed it.
My gas bill came in at $13. All these lower than usual gas bills are a huge blessing right now, especially as I see the news reporting people are now having $400 gas bills in the winter here, which is highly unusual as we have such mild winters. The new rates are really affecting people. We have used the crockpot more than the oven, kept the heat down, and put extra blankets on the beds. Earlier this year, I replaced my worn, thrifted flannel pajamas with these new ones from Amazon, and that has helped me to be warm as well.
I collected shower warm-up water and used it to water my potted plants in the garden.
We received considerable rain Friday, saving me the need to water the garden. The water bill is the highest utility bill for me now most months, so every time I can not water is so helpful!
I designed baby shower invitations for a shower I am throwing for a friend of mine using the image I took two weeks ago of my mother’s muscari in the blue and white porcelain garage sale find. I sent them out via text. I have hosted several showers before. This is the first time I have sent text invitations. It was a great money-saver, and several people texted me back right away.
I harvested lettuce, snow peas, parsley, and lemons from the garden.
I made a lemon meringue pie using lemons from the garden.
Someone in a local garden group was giving away a five-year-old Lisbon lemon tree if someone was willing to come dig it out. My friend was wanting a lemon tree, so I said I would take it. We went together and dug the tree out.
I took the children to Krispy Kreme Donuts on Saturday. You could get a free donut if you wore green. Everyone got a free donut.
What did you do to save money last week?
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How did your garden tour go? Hope it was an amazing success!!
This week I was reminded how blessed we are. Hubs is still working on laundry room remodel. He found some free kitchen cabinets to replace an old one that he took out because it was falling apart. They were new but the couple didn’t like them and so they replaced them before even having them installed! 😱😱 We were happy to pick them up!
Our 8 chickens that we bought in September to replace our old layers are now giving us 6-8 eggs every day! That’s more than the 2 of us need but rather than selling some of the excess (which we could do easily), we have chosen to give some to families we know who are feeling the pinch of inflation more than we are. It’s been such a blessing to be able to share!
Easter will be hosted at our daughter’s house with about 30 of us and she’s doing it as a “controlled” pot luck asking everyone to sign up for food needed (vegetable, dessert, paper products, etc). I will provide the ham from the incredible Flashfood deal I got a couple months ago- boneless half ham (7-1/2 pound for $5 total! 😳❤️❤️). I bought several at the time and shared again with friends who were feeling the pinch as well as deli slicing some to keep and some to share. So now, all I need to do is pull one or two out of the freezer without having to run to the store! I’ll bring funeral potatoes also using potatoes I bought on sale a while back for 99 cents/5 pounds. I also have cheese for it that I bought, shredded and froze that was clearanced. So no OOP costs for our part. Just shopping from freezer and pantry things I bought at lowest prices. That really helps!
I’ve made 2 quilts this past 10 days only using scraps I have and batting scraps sewn together with goodwill sheet as backing. https://pin.it/YlfAk4rJX and https://pin.it/1oTcLxNdS. I still need to bind these. And here’s the 3rd one ready to quilt- https://pin.it/1zW1VYh5Z.
But I’m excited to find the next scrappy pattern to use some of my excess to make into something useful that I can give. It is such a good feeling to be able to have enough and to share that with others.
Our level pay gas bill just adjusted our monthly rate from $104/month to $47/month from this month through August because we didn’t use as much as they anticipated. This was a very nice surprise!
Little victories with saving help with the challenge of our property taxes going from $197/month to $472/month this year and homeowner’s insurance going up to $220/month. We thought that since we paid off the house that our budget would be much less and for the first 4 years afterwards, it was. But this year we’ve been shocked at how much taxes and insurance have skyrocketed! Still, we are grateful to have a home and all the basic necessities in life and many little “extras” even after these increases!
We are determined to focus on our blessings- and they are abundant! We still have enough and to spare so that we can hopefully help others along their way! No point in whining about negatives.
Gardenpat in Ohio
The tour went well! It was a smaller turnout than last year, but we had great discussions and I think people left having gained lots of insight for their own gardens.
That property tax jump is HUGE! Wow! I think we’re all feeling these increases and it’s really hurting people.
Brandy- If only I lived closer, I would have been the first one to sign up for your tour/instruction! You certainly have learned how to make the desert bloom like a rose!! ❤️
Gardenpat in Ohio
I’m glad your garden tour went well, its hard work preparing for such things. Your lemon tree looks amazing, ( as does your garden) I wish it was warm enough here for citrus.
I’ve been taking the time to make meal plans, I find them more useful now that there are only 2 of us, it means I waste very little.
I’ve been planning what to grow this year, seeds sorted and labels written. I just need to find a cheap watering system for when we go to our daughters wedding, we’ll be away in June which can be quite hot.
Husband is taking early retirement next week so will have to plan all aspects of our life more carefully. We are blessed to be mortgage free, but will still have to reduce our spending dramatically.
Have repaired 2 pair of trousers, one top and I’m about to hand sew a repair on my daughters coat. Have a good week.
Hi Diane! I am finding the same thing as you…it’s much more crucial for me to meal plan now that there are only two of us! Otherwise I either end up tossing food or we don’t eat nutritionally. When the kids were home, I had to cook nutritious meals and the hordes ate everything.😂😂😂
Have you talked to tax dept? Our’s let us know we were getting a discount since we are 65. Hardin county has it but I don’t know about the other counties.
Juls Owings- We get the Homestead Exemption here in Franklin County but unfortunately, it discounts only the first $25K of assessed valuation of property. So that ends up being $405/year less. However, it doesn’t take into account that our house went from assessed valuation of $105K a year ago to $317K this year AND school levy was approved which added to tax amount! If the exemption was adjustable rather than a flat amount, that would help. As it is, while we are grateful for it as well as our owner occupy credit, it still more than doubled our taxes for the year! 😕 But….we have a home so we are much more fortunate than so many others.
Gardenpat in Ohio
yeah no kidding with the taxes and insurance- we were paying 1800 and it jumped to 4000 about… we also had to scramble and shop around… deductible at 1% is hard enough to come by…we learned that clubbing your home insurance with your vehicle could save…
😳😳😳
Our property tax has jumped like yours in the last two years. We have a typical suburban home and it is $892/month!!!!! Insanity!!!! And it’s set to go up again😡 On top of that, our governor wants to slap a $10 tax on each prescription you get! Nothing is getting cheaper, that’s for sure. Even if something goes down, it never gets back to the lower price point…it’s like smoke and mirrors. I am grateful we have a home and what we need, but I am tired of highway robbery.
Laura, what state are you in?
The property taxes are nuts! And that prescription tax 😳 Very worrisome!
I live in Illinois😫 We plan to leave this state when hubby retires. We have a 4.95% income tax, a 10% sales tax (6.25% state tax and the rest is county and municipal) except for food and drugs, which are taxed at a lesser amount, ridiculous property taxes, and now the proposed prescription tax. Our water bill for just the two of us is almost $100/month and we are not wasteful. And they wonder why people are fleeing this state!
I have heard about the exodus from Illinois. Now I can see why!
Laura, I feel you! We’re in Texas. No state income tax but 8.25% sales tax and our property taxes are horrifying. Our property tax rate is around 2.26% and you would be lucky to find a livable home here under $300K. Insanity I tell you!
A prescription tax sounds like it would target the most vulnerable of the population. Why wouldn’t you tax junk food or boats or luxury cars or anything else really.
Agreed! We are in Illinois as well and our taxes are going to be in the neighborhood of 10k for a $230k house. I believe Illinois would tax the tax if possible. Crazy state on many levels.
Your quilts are beautiful!
Gardenpat those quilts are BEAUTIFUL – as always. That is a horrid property tax increase. Is there a mechanism to contest your assessment where you live? Our property taxes are always in the four digits per month range – but we keep it from growing as much as the county would like by using a service where they contest on our behalf and take a percentage of whatever savings there is as payment [so if there is no savings the only cost is the filing fee – $30? something like that] – and we get a reduction each time so that the increase over time is a much flatter curve than it would be otherwise.
What an absolutely gorgeous color of hyacinth! I was wondering about the tour also, and am glad to know it went well for you. Happy you got a good deal on the mahogany table. It’s such a pretty wood. Our asparagus has started poking up, and the first few spears have been harvested. My husband cleaned out the woodstove, and I was able to supplement all the remaining fruit trees with wood ash. After finishing, I applied worm castings to a number of fruit trees, and our oldest three blueberries. My canning project last week was our lima beans. I’d like to get enough on the shelf to last us until weather cools again in the Fall. I believe I accomplished that with the lima beans. More seeds were planted, and the radishes and tomatoes have begun sprouting. Wishing all a Happy Spring!
The last couple weeks haven’t been very frugal…we got a fifth dog. I’m a sucker for a wagging tail, lol. She’s a puppy. The big boys are ok with her, and our Frenchie just loves her.(our little old guy doesn’t care as long as she leaves him alone, lol). They play with each other until both are exhausted. So, we had a first vet visit, along with the yearly visit for the Frenchie, but it was still cheaper than many vets charge around here. Pup had worms, so we had medicine on top of that, and she’ll have a couple more monthly visits for boosters, then a spay this summer.
I was saving up for a smaller cage for the Frenchie, so I went ahead and bought one so they could have their own spaces. The pup is Chow/German Shepard/Great Pyrenees so she’ll be more like two of the boys in relation to size, and I’m sure the Frenchie won’t want to always be crated with her.
I also replaced my shredder that died a few months ago.
We had Jimmy John’s sandwiches at work one day 😋
I have a bad habit of just placing new bags of dog food on top of the old bags. I had to clean the can I keep it all in out and was able to get 3 more servings out of the most expensive dog food we buy for the Anatolian with the sensitive digestive system.
I finished The Chemist and Slaughterhouse Five on Audible
Blue Buffalo discontinued their reward program, so I received a coupon for $5 off dog food.
Received a Starbucks drink for free(the account was set up using my oldest daughter’s info, and it won’t let me change the birthdate)
My mother in law mailed us a big batch of homemade jerky
Used Mcalister’s reward points for a free sandwich
Used reward points at McDonald’s for a free chicken sandwich
Had a not so cheap stock up trip to Sam’s. I didn’t even buy food outside of creamer and crackers and it was $250😭 I have an almost equally expensive Subscribe and Save order from Amazon, but I should have several months supply on a few items.
Filled up on gas while there because it was .11 cheaper than my usual spot
Purchased Krispy Kreme donuts for $9.99 dozen on special for St Patrick’s day
I was off 6 working days for Spring Break, so my next paycheck is going to be awful, but I got several things out of the house, either by trashing them or giving away. The Frenchie’s new crate is also a console table with drawers, so I got rid of the sad little one that I had for nearly a decade. It was a solid table, but the drawer had long fell apart. I stayed home as much as possible while I was off, the teen was gone about half of it.
Our FFA at the High School does a discount vaccine program. Supervised by a vet but runs by the students
I was thinking of you last week, Brandy, wondering about your garden tour. Glad to hear it went well. * After raising five children, I still have a bit of trouble cooking for two with a few things. I still make a pot of spaghetti sauce and a pot of chili. I froze the extra, flat in zip bags in the freezer, for easy meals another night. *I bought some coleslaw mix on sale. We enjoyed coleslaw for a couple meals but didn’t use it all. I froze two quart-size freezer bags to use in soup another time. N waste!* A friend game me a cute little milk glass sugar bowl and creamer for my bday. It is a cute addition to my decor. She told me she got it at the thrift store and that made me love it even more. * Another friend took me to breakfast to celebrate my bday and gave me a Culver’s gift card which I thought was kind and generous.* Still knitting and crocheting from the stash and reading library books for fun. I hope everyone has a great week!
I was wondering if you have you closed your IG account? I have been so preoccupied with health issues lately that I just realized this week that I haven’t seen any posts from your account in a while & when I searched, couldn’t find your account anymore at all.
Not closed at all! I have posted, but my goal of posting daily has not been happening due to life responsibilities.
Hmm, curious. I wonder why your account isn’t showing up for me? Is there any way to check it on your end if you get a moment, please? Thank you!
Tell me your account name and I’ll look it up.
TJ’s Sweet Home (@tjssweethome) . Thank you, I know you are extremely busy & hate to ask but I am perplexed.
Here is Arizona our water bill is getting a big hike,and our town of Gilbert is looking at property tax hikes too. In retirement it’s hard to think about utilities taxes and insurances going up so much..we continue to be frugal in our ways. Luckily, at this stage of life we have most of what we need , our home is paid off, and we prepared for retirement.Still,some of the increases are getting hard to bear!!
That lemon tree and that pie! I can smell them now. Lemon is one of my most favorite flavors. I have surprised many people by taking a bite out of a lemon like one would eat an apple. What a gift to have them right outside your door.
*The most interesting things I have done recently in terms of saving money is finding creative ways for my children to have unique experiences. One was a photography contest in honor of National Agriculture Week sponsored by a local Farm Bureau agency. The theme was “What agriculture means to me?” My boys each took a photo. The youngest took a photo of a group of our hens grazing in a field and the other took a photo of one of his bantam roosters in top of our woodshed. Both boys’ photos were recognized but the rooster photo won 2nd place! He was so thrilled. The photo was framed and is on display in the office. When the display is taken down he will get the framed photo, a certificate and $25. Not bad return for something that just took a little time and no cost was involved.
*Both boys also entered an art contest at a local art store. They did this same art contest last year for the first time and won 2nd place and an honorable mention respectively. Both awards came with a gift certificate to the art store and the awards were given out at a very nice reception. That will take place this weekend and we are looking forward to it. Again, no cost to us as I was able to frame both boys’ pieces in frames I already owned. Thank goodness I learned how to frame within the last year. It has really come in handy.
*And…. yet another art show happens this week for my youngest son. This show is being hosted by a local county cultural foundation in partnership with the local arts council. In this show, the artists had to audition to be entered in the show and my youngest son’s piece was accepted to compete. That competition will be this Friday night. So, we will have two art shows/competitions 2 nights in a row. Again, no cost here either as he had all his supplies and I framed his piece.
*My younger son and I taught another session of Drawing Club for our homeschool co-op – this time focused on illustrative drawing, comics and graphic novels. We had a great time. Everyone brought examples of their favorite books with this theme which led to a lively discussion and drawing with that inspiration. Everyone brings their own supplies so no cost to anyone. We had picked up some free stickers (the really nice kind people are putting on their computers or water bottles these days and usually cost $2-4 a piece) from the local art supply store and handed them out to the participants.
*Our homeschool co-op is learning about various ancient civilizations this session. I taught a class of ancient Japanese history to the general group and then the kids broke up into 3 groups rotating through each one. They got to make and eat sushi, create prints using wood blocks and (my class) get an immersive experience on warrior training as Samurai. I was very fortunate to borrow 3 kimonos from a choir friend of mine who is a professor of musical theatre at the local university. Those, along with a katana my husband inherited from his uncle as well as wonderful books with gorgeous illustrations from the library made it a very visual and hands-on class. Within my class, the kids learned how hard it is to meditate for 2 minutes (whereas the Samurai did it for hours a day), how to write 3 characters in the Shodo style (Japanese decorative writing) and do some basic forms for warrior training with wooden sticks and the katana. It was so much fun! Our family definitely learns best by doing so that is how I approach anything I teach. No lectures here! 🙂 I offer this up just as an example of how fun and enriching experiences do not have to be expensive with a little creativity, using what we have, the willingness to ask others to borrow stuff and the library – thank goodness for the library!
*These fun opportunities along with all the usual frugal choices certainly make life interesting and help me sleep well at night.
*Hope all of you are enjoying this Spring season! Peace!
My middle daughter likes to eat lemons! We quarter them to squeeze on fish and when she is done squeezing her quarter she will just quietly eat the entire thing, skin and all. I used to worry about it but it doesn’t seem to do her any harm 🙂
I do the same.
I was really focused on creative frugals this week, thanks to this and a few other posts. I try to keep an eye out for opportunities I would normally miss.
1. Free Food: I picked kumquats, lemons and received my co op’s 20 pounds of almonds and walnuts from our farm coop. I lost nuts last year because They turned too quickly. I have already food savored.
2. Zero Waste: I refuse to buy more milk for the yogurt I make until I have used up several containers of powders and last year’s frozen fruit including persimmons I picked and froze. I saved two containers of cream cheese. I search recipes and made a quiche lorraine with leftover bacon bits, strawberry cream cheese and a .99 cent pre baked shortbread crust. it might look like a dessert but it is dinner for hubby tonite.
3. I am out of bread with seemingly have no inclination to make more. I often eat egg on toast so for the last week I have put my eggs over easy on frozen restaurant dinner rolls, rice, and fried baby potatoes. Very tasty.
4. Health Insurance Part 1: My insurance offers MD Live which is a video chat / urgent care program that has free consultations. I developed a rash. The in person urgent care had a line out the door. MD live Dr. saw a picture and prescribed steroids for 1.89. I saved a $30 copay and didn’t have to sit with a bunch of potentially contagious people. So easy. ( poison oak – BTW) I also had a repeat performance of a sternum spasm issue that twice before sent me to the hospital as possible heart attack. I know the symptoms now, laid down with heat, and it passed in a day. Please, though, do not take any chances, ladies, with heart symptoms. Pain, shortness of breathe, nausea, and arm pain often go ignored by women when a blood test is critical. Sacrificing health is the ultimate frugal fail. I have been cleared with extensive, multiple tests so I felt very safe picking rest.
5. Health Insurance Part II: My health, vision and dental insurance for myself, spouse and son will be about 20% of my after tax pension ( $1250) until I am 65. That is AFTER a generous portion paid by my school district and an HSA deductible of 2,000 per person. Believe it or not, it is a screaming deal. Researching , comparing drug prices through Good RX, healthy living, checking my bills, asking for cash discounts, careful choice of providers are all critical tools for my retirement plan. I really feel so grateful I can advocate fore my family and have the opportunity of excellent insurance. So many cannot or do not see the value of putting in the time and effort.
Meals enjoyed this week included pizza, hamburgers, butter chicken and chili-with lots of leftovers at every meal. I was blessed to be able to take my 92 year old mother out for her birthday lunch this week too! My dentist started me on an antibiotic as she thought I had an infected tooth-I had an allergic reaction to it-and again to the replacement she prescribed! I have been covered in hives and itchy and of course sleeping poorly. I saw my doc today and she prescribed a couple of medicines which I hope will help-the OTC and Rx drug costs have been higher than usual this week. Luckily I have a drug plan so the Rx ones are not too costly. In fact one of them was free as the tills were down when I picked up the medicine so I couldn’t pay-I offered to pay today but they declined.
Best deal this week was 5 lbs of Ambrosia apples for $3.49 on the Flashfood app.
Brandy I am glad to hear that your garden tour went well.
Your mahogany table sounds wonderful! And lovely to be able to pass on your previous table to someone who could really benefit from it.
My frugal week(s):
– I made chocolate chip mini muffins as snacks for my kids (copycat little bites) and baked half the batter as a loaf and cut that up for snacks as well.
– I redeemed $10 in loyalty points for groceries and $20 from a survey site to my paypal account.
– My eldest had told me and her class that her goal for the new year/winter was to go skating with me. She doesn’t ask for much, so I wanted to make it happen. I borrowed a pair of skates from my sister instead of renting or buying a pair for myself (they were slightly too small, but I could stand it for 45 minutes), bought slightly too big second-hand skates for my daughter (they fit perfectly with an extra pair of handknit wool socks, and my daughter saw someone else with the same brand on the ice and was pleased), bought a helmet for her, and arranged for a ride to an arena that had kid skating supports. She had a blast, and it was wonderful to have focused quality time with her. If I am able to put her in skating lessons next winter, the helmet and skates will still fit perfectly (which is why I made sure that they both fit the skating class regulations). I was so pleased to have been able to make this happen! I bought her skates out of my grocery budget, so the helmet was the only thing I needed to budget for, and if she uses it at least next year (and my other daughter after that), it will be well worth it.
– I hosted a playdate for my daughter. Homemade pizza, a fruit and veg platter using on sale produce and a homemade dip (salad dressing, Greek yoghurt, and a bit of mayo), and cutting out and decorating homemade cookies with buttercream icing and sprinkles. Fun and frugal!
– I accepted a bag of hand-me-down clothes from a friend, for my youngest, including a fancy dress that she’ll wear at her birthday party. I bought a pair of fancy white shoes second-hand for $8, to wear with the dress, and she’ll use the shoes for at least one other party, and probably with other dresses for a few months.
– I turned leftover frozen French toast into “Churro French Toast” by toasting it in the toaster, buttering it, and sprinkling it with cinnamon sugar. My eldest loved it!
– I used a gift card to take my daughters to the movies during March break. I chose a not-new release, and spent under $15 for all three of us, including taxes, which is amazing.
– I stacked high value coupons and sales, to get $65 worth of women’s products for $15 total.
– I was gifted a package of brand-new tupperware containers, which will be very handy for toting leftovers for lunches.
– my mother amused my kids by pulling out some 40 year old lego and duplo, as well as some books from my childhood. Kept them amused the entire day! They’ve also been amused by colouring on cardboard boxes, and cutting them out; robot helmets, spaceships…the list goes on!
Looking forward to learning from everyone else as always!
I went to a boarding school where the nuns made sure there was no food waste (before that was a cool thing). I loved it when we had French toast because the leftovers would be turned into grilled cheese sandwiches. Too many calories to count but we were young…now I allow myself to have it twice a year. It is a comfort food to me, as I have only good memories of that school.
Oooh, a Monte Cristo sandwich! Yum!
Your garden looks fantastic. Nice to get free donuts. I saw that Dairy Queen has free cones on March 19th. Perhaps in Nevada as well?
Great job on the gas bill too.
For those with increasing home insurance costs, ask yourself, how long you’ve been paying and how many claims have you had. It’s getting ridiculous how homeowners are required to replace perfectly good shingles and jump through hoops for the insurance company. If your home is paid for you don’t need insurance. Pay yourself the premium and you will grow a nest egg to cover your own losses. I know there are folks who’ll worry about liability insurance, etc; that is why you will continue to be held hostage by them.
Wish I had an answer for the increased property taxes. Just more belt tightening for some, I suppose.
That’s insane not having insurance for a house! Nobidy could afford to replace stuff in a house uf it burnt down etc. Not in my country anyway (New Zealand)
I feel compelled to reply to this. A number of people locally tried that, encouraging others to do the same. Then a home burned down and the owner had not saved enough premiums to cover the over 200,000 in replacement costs. Small incidents like a roof blown off might work with this plan, but I don’t know anyone who could fork over $200,000 from saved premiums. I would urge caution about not carrying insurance. I can also speak from personal experience in that we had a robbery that included a lot of computer equipment and some inherited jewelry. The replacement cost was $27,000; there is no way banking the money we would have spent on premiums would have added up to that amount of cash. We needed the computer equipment for our business, so would have had to take out a loan to replace it. I was thankful for the insurance.
I agree that homeowners’ insurance rates have increased dramatically. I live in a coastal area and near water but not in a flood zone. Our rates have risen significantly with some companies ending coverage for coastal areas in our state altogether due to the threat of hurricanes and flooding. We are fortunate to have a paid for house.
I encourage everyone to think long and hard before discontinuing home insurance. It wasn’t a hurricane that was our threat. I lost my house and most of its contents in a house fire. The insurance pay out for the replacement cost of the house and our contents, plus payment for a rental for 18 months while our house was rebuilt and other attendant costs FAR exceeded the cumulative amount of our paid premiums. I did the math. We had savings, but without insurance we would have had to rebuild a much smaller house while depleting our savings. With our insurance we were able to replace our belongings, rebuild the exact same size house and move forward from BF (before fire) to AF (after fire). So please look at all possibilities so you don’t leave yourself open to ruin.
My goodness – that rose in the last photo! It’s stunning! I’d love to have those in my garden (if they can survive zone 3) – would you mind sharing the name and type? Thanks in advance!
Our biggest money saver was paying off our minivan! We have two vehicles (we both have long commutes to work, in opposite directions from each other) and are so grateful to have it paid off. Now to save for two new to us vehicles.
The children are home from University for spring break and we are delighted to have them home. They emphatically requested homemade meals all week. We are happy to comply with that request. I think they were both tired of dormitory food.
Lots of walks and visits with friends and they’ll come up work with me one day to visit other friends and see our new, snazzy building, rather than paying for entertainment out and about while they (the children) are home.
I made a list of birthday gifts I can make with what I have on hand and started looking for a couple of very specific things for my children’s birthday in May (they’re twins). Hoping to avoid unnecessary spending by planning ahead. Their birthday is doing final exams, so we’ll celebrate when they’re home just after.
I ordered the first round of plants for the rest of our front yard/garden makeover as well as most, if not all, of our vegetable seedlings. We did all the transplanting from our current garden plants and the bulb planting last fall. Now we need the new to us plants that we can’t source for free. We’re removing all of the grass and replacing it with a combination of native plants and edibles and a small bee lawn for the easement. I got a total of 63 “plants” (including 6 6-packs) for $3 per “plant”. Sometimes it’s helpful to order in bulk! I’m so excited about this. I should have one more round of ordering and we should be done for this year.
Took advantage of the free hot tea provided by the greenhouse at work. Delicious and a needed break in the middle of busy mornings.
Otherwise, keeping up with the everyday things – bringing lunches, eating at home, refraining from unnecessary purchases, etc.
Lea
It’s Scentimental.
Thanks, Brandy!
It looks like it will only work through zone 5 but I’m definitely going to look for something similar.
Have a wonderful weekend,
Lea
I can’t wait to see photos of your beautiful floral arrangements on your new table!
On the frugal front:
Our teenage grandneice came over to visit. We made cake pops and a taco hotdish using pantry staples. It was fun to have a teenager in the house again! She took the cake pops to school to share with her friends. They were a hit and gone before lunch. She even shared one with her Creative Foods teacher. Of course teenagers love fashion and screens, but they still have fun doing simple, frugal activities like making treats.
DDs1 and 2 joined HH on a business trip to San Antonio for spring break. They were able to share his room at the resort where the conference was held and enjoy the free amenities. I sent their Easter gifts in HH’s luggage to avoid shipping costs and which included items for the trip like sunscreen, sunglasses, swim cover up and sandals.
HH started the vegetable and flowers seeds indoors which reminded me that I need to do a much better job of eating from the freezer. If we hope to have any freezer space once the garden produce is ripe, I need to get busy!
While HH was away on business, I prepared a chicken pasta salad and tuna salad to eat throughout the week to avoid take out (my constant struggle.) To avoid food waste, I made a no boil pasta bake using leftover beef broth, homemade marinara, and mozerella cheese which were languishing in the fridge.
HH and I had a fun, low cost weekend. Saturday afternoon we toured the free Parade of Homes in our area. We are considering updating our kitchen and enjoyed touring the new builds to gather ideas. On St. Patrick’s Day, we went to an Irish pub to hear free live music and enjoy an Irish beverage.
I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal feats.
For security reasons we locked down all of our credit cards. So, we have to unlock them in order to use them. We have always paid them off each month, so I didn’t think it would make a difference. Much to our surprise, our balance this month was more than 50% below our average. I guess having that extra step prevents impulse purchases. Thankful for the good result.
I have been sick for weeks but didn’t give in and order food delivery. We ate from our pantry and freezer and with little effort were well fed. So glad that we stocked up.
I appreciate all who post as I am inspired to do better by reading their examples.
Brandy, your photos are stunning and I am so thankful you had a good rain, (I saw the video on IG).
Our utilities are really going up as well, and thankful that for now we don’t have a water bill as we are on a well.
My biggest savings have been with produce. Many years ago someone posted about stocking up on produce that lasts and I have done that. We are eating sweet potatoes from Thanksgiving week, .25/#., and bought 30#. Oranges from Christmas .40/#, and I bought about 20 # of them. Cabbages at .25# and bought 20# and made sauerkraut. I am going to the grocery when I know they mark down ( usually around mid morning). Last week there was a grocery cart full including a banana box filled with apple, a bunch of citrus fruits, and kiwi. I told the produce guy I would take the box as is, if he would mark it. He put a $5 stick for 30#. I gave some to my daughter for her family of 7, froze a bunch and we will eat out of it through April. Then, yesterday I got more apples and bananas marked down, filled the freezer with more bananas and will bake
some skinny monkey cookies for me and banana muffins for hubby. I gave some of the apples, lemons and bananas to my daughter and she gave me a dozen eggs from a friend’s chickens!
I have been picking dandelion, chickweed and cleavers from my garden along with chard and kale and making smoothies with that and an apple, a bit of the lemon, and ginger. This has been my morning drink and they taste pretty good.
I hosted a dinner for 7 ladies from church and we had a super healthy dinner with grass fed beef from my neighbor, roasted veggies and a wilted kale salad. Someone brought seltzer waters and another brought fruit. One of the women had breast cancer this past year at 30, and is eating super clean, so the menu fit her needs!
My lettuce, kale, chard and radishes are coming up. We had a freeze last night so I covered the blueberries and strawberries, but my pear tree were in full bloom!😟 I have been working really hard to get the soil amended before planting with manure from my neighbor’s cows, put wood ash around the pears and eating what I am weeding from my BP veggie beds in my smoothies. We are hosting the church Easter egg hunt this Saturday, so I have been weeding, and mulching my flower beds.
I think a lot of savings for me come from asking, whether it be the produce man, the men cutting down trees and letting them know I will gladly take their mulch, or letting my neighbor know I will help shovel manure if he doesn’t want it! It never hurts to ask and there is nothing to lose!
I hope you all have a blessed week and I am thankful for a group of kindred souls!
Ann
I hope you feel better soon. I too have locked down a credit card.
And like you I find it does help with impulse buying.
So glad to hear that the tour went well Brandy – your garden is amazing and those closeup photos of the flowers are so beautiful! Up here Winter has decided to arrive – just in time for Spring! One day last week we were up to 20C and today we are back below freezing with flurries and more predicted for later this week! I keep switching between my Spring jacket and my Winter parka!
My new phone bill arrived and the initial one was just what I expected as there was extra for the set up and transfer fee – going forward this will save me about $35 per month. I am slowly getting the hang of an Iphone! I have also cancelled CRAVE TV – saving me $22 per month – just couldn’t get into many of the series that people have raved about – I find that my tastes have really changed lately.
I have continued to eat from the freezer and pantry and use up all sorts of odds and ends – it has made for some interesting meals. I did go grocery shopping on Friday but mainly bought items for a lunch I am throwing for 6 people this coming Saturday. I wanted to get ahead on the cooking and managed this on Saturday and everything is ready and in the freezer. I used my entertainment allowance and will feed six of us for the cost of about one restaurant meal.
I enjoyed brunch out with my youngest sister – she treated. I had coffee and pastries with two friends – I paid this time, next time one of them will pay. I had lunch at church yesterday as it was a special meeting day so that was a nice treat. Tonight I attended a free lecture at one of the local universities and then enjoyed coffee afterwards as part of the evening. I still have enough of this month’s allowance to get me through this week and I don’t really anticipate spending anything as it is a very busy week at the office and then I have chores to do each day before the company on Saturday so that will keep me occupied.
Our library system has finally recovered from a major cyber attack and I have 3 holds to pick up before the end of the week so more free entertainment. I don’t anticipate any more major shopping before the end of the month – probably just some milk and bread – really trying to keep costs down as much as possible and the best way is to just stay out of the stores!
Hope that everyone is well and I look forward to catching up with all of the regulars.
Hi Margie,
I love your comment “Winter has decided to arrive just in time for spring!” True here too. Yesterday plus 16; now temperature is zero and dropping to minus 14 with 25 centimeters of snow over this coming week. I shovelled 8 times within 72 hours about ten days ago and now more shovelling. Is it any wonder Canadians are obsessed with the weather? Since you already have your snowstorm, ours has not arrived in TO yet but if it does you’ll have even more! Good thing we have well-stocked pantries. Ann
We are expecting your snowstorm tonight Ann!!! And it is freezing! Very worried about the early flowers as I’ve already seen snowdrops and crocus – they had already started the cherry blossom watch in High Park as they were expecting the trees to bloom about two weeks earlier than normal but now we are all afraid that the buds might freeze and not bloom properly this year!
I am enjoying several freebies. I received 2 free movie tickets from Angel movies to go see Cabrini. It was a lovely movie. Sugar cookie backed out ,so I went a second time. I enjoyed it as much as the first time and picked up on things I hadn’t realized the first time. I saw a 1 year free subscription to the Balance meditation app and forgot it. I googled it and claimed it. I brought home a turkey for Easter dinner. I have a number 10 can of Allen’s greenbeans and a no.10 can of sweet potatoes. I brought home a case of ground turkey. My kids have used almost all of it in various recipes. My short term memory is about nonexistent. I certainly found many other items but don’t remember. Angel movies sent me an offer for $5.00 movie tickets. I bought 3. I also am seeing free movie tickets on Atom movies. I enjoyed a podcast on a murder I was intrigued about. Podcasts may be my new love. My lovely cocker spaniel just turned 10. She’s had one eye removed. Now the other is inflamed and will require removal. I have no idea what this will cost. It won’t be cheap and I may end up using all my charge cards to cover it. I continue to feel like it’s raining on me. It’s been a very long time since I have been pushed this hard up against the wall. Thankfully ,I have no needs and the bills are all paid. Helping my daughter the last few months has simply left me empty. Instead. I look for the glimmer in my life. My cherry tree is in the midst of its 10 day bloom. It’s gorgeous. The birds are eating the apples I put out as fast as they can. I recognize few of them but they are beautiful too. I tried pineapple and strawberries but that’s not their favorites. They do like nectarines. They consume very little bird food. I dug a very heavy case of apples from the dumpster. Me and my new friends should be happy for a while.
Your cherry tree sounds really lovely. I am glad that you are able to enjoy it! I’m sorry that things are tough for you at the moment. I know you will be able to find the strength to soldier on through it.
Lilliana,
I’m sending big hugs your way. Keep the faith that things will get better. You’re a treasure, remember that.
Debbie
Lillianna,
I hope life smooths out for you. Thanks for sharing your glimmers, they sound amazing.
I went to a follow-up appointment with my doctor to get the results of my physical bloodwork and other tests. All was good, and I got some clarification on some fuzzy communication from other doctors about the numbers from the last couple of years. My cholesterol is a little bit high, so I am trying six months of diet and exercise change to see if I can avoid starting any medication. That will save me the co-pay. I found a series of free exercise videos on YouTube that are just right for where I am, and I will alternate these with walking. I grew up with both parents watching their cholesterol, so this eating is well within my comfort zone. I read up on things to make sure I had up-to-date info.
I went into the city to an appointment with a dermatologist to check out a growth on my hairline. No worries there, and it was removed on the spot with some freezing. It was my first trip into the city since November 2019, before the pandemic. I went with the County senior’s and handicap bus service. The driver had lost his wife in December, and he had a lot to talk about with her final illness, and adjusting to life alone, and his family. We stopped for lunch at KFC on the way back, and I paid for both of us. I wasn’t too surprised that it was $22. The ride was $150 for a 312 kilometer trip, but these expenses will be reimbursed for me by the province as a senior on a modest income.
Our grocery store three doors away is clearing its shelves as they prepare to close at the end of the month. There is much less stock but no sales. Everything is being moved back to their distribution centre. There is 10% off on Thursday, but the other store in town gives that discount the first Tuesday of every month on the inventory in a well-stocked store.
I ordered a re-stock of green lentils and red split lentils from Amazon, as well as some walnuts. The lentils will make some easy low-cholesterol meals, and keep my costs lower than meat-based meals. It was delivered to my front step. In the past I have always had to pick up these orders at the post office, which often costs me for a taxi ride.
I’m doing some spring cleaning. Not as much as I can see needs doing, but some is better than nothing! Yardwork is still a couple of months away, so I may get quite a lot done by then.
Today I sold a set of wicker tables. I had listed them as a set and had no interest, so I listed them separately and the same person bought all 3 for more than the original grouped listing. Funny! I painted a dresser that a friend had given us to sell (and to keep the money), and listed that on FB marketplace. Also scrubbed a free Graco stroller and a turtle sandbox, and listed both of them. Somehow larger pieces have come my way and I really don’t have space, so I want to move them quickly. I also sold more cloth diapers for my son and daughter-in-law. I made my first sale on Poshmark and was pleased with the ease of the transaction and the transparency regarding how much money I will receive.
I was gifted a 6 pack of lettuce starts.
Our library does small 3D print projects for free so I had submitted a project to be printed and got an email today saying that it is ready. They seem to only do smaller projects, but I am enjoying trying out this service.
A favorite shirt of mine was looking baggy, partly because I’ve lost some weight, and partly because I wear it a lot and it’s getting older. It was a long sleeve shirt but the sleeves seemed to have stretched. I cut them off and made them short sleeved. I also shortened the length of the shirt, and took in the sides a bit. It looks much better and will get some more use now. Not a stunning savings, but I like to get every last ounce of use out of things. I have been pondering though, that the time and effort spent on these small wins may be making it so I can’t/don’t have as many significant savings. Definitely food for thought.
The lemon meringue pie looks amazing, it reminds me of my mum who made them for all family occasions.
It has rained heavily for 5 days this week so I haven’t done much in the garden but I did get the washing dry outside on the day it didn’t rain , it was very windy. I intend to sow peas in the greenhouse and plant beans in the garden in the next couple of week. With peas I germinate them in the kitchen and them I can see which ones are viable I sow these in pots, this saves wasting money on compost. Also with it being a bit warmer we have managed without the heating during the day
We had to buy hubby some new slipper as I left his at my daughters an hour away. We went to Matalan were we found a pair for £4 marked down from £10 and I got a new pair of joggers for £10 in the men’s section for me. All the joggers in the ladies section were polyester which I can’t wear and the men’s sections clothes are better quality.
We went grocery shopping this week, I found yellow sticker pain aux raisin, focaccia, croissants. We did the main shopping at Aldi.
I batched cooked beef mince and added a tin of mixed beans. I got 8 serving out of this. I roasted a 1.5 kilo chicken and got 4 meals from it. We went to the farm shop on the way to my daughters for veg. We now have no butchers or veg shop in the 3 towns near us.
I must try to get the lawn mown this week with all the rain it is quite long. Also the hedge needs a cut
I am doing the plastic waste challenge this week for the Greenpeace it is surprising how much plastic you throw away each week. Quite an eye opener.
We ate out twice this week with family, lots of birthdays and anniversaries, but we treated both times. It was lovely to see family. We do not exchange gifts just send a card. None of use have a need for gifts.
We went to the local clinic to exchange our hearing aid batteries free, on the bus using our bus passes. I got some new library books while we were in town.
Have a good week,
Chris
I have been very ill with a cold this week. I cancelled three planned outings because I felt too ill. I spent a lot of time napping and reading and going to bed when the children did. I hate how debilitating colds can be! I feel like they are “just” a cold but the ones my children bring home absolutely knock me out.
However, I managed to cook our planned meals and not buy anything extra or spend time online shopping beyond ordering one book I have wanted for a long time. I have started re-reading a long book I had already.
I had an argument with iTunes over a film that vanished from my library. They would not give it back. I considered buying it again but decided I am over buying digital content that can just disappear at someone else’s whim. If I want to watch it in the future, I will buy a second hand DVD and play it on our projector. I decided to watch something else I (still! for now!) own instead.
I managed to spend some time sewing a large roman blind for our kitchen. I made some mistakes I don’t intend to correct (pinching fabric to create a little tuck) because I am tired of redoing it. And just plain tired because of my cold! I am nearly done and hope to finish this coming week.
My husband hung some curtains I had made the other week. They have bonded fleece blackout lining so will be VERY insulating. We have chosen classic traditional designs that won’t date, bought from justfabrics.com. We are reusing all the curtains and blinds from our old house (cutting down/adapting if necessary) but this new house just has more windows! We save a lot of money with me sewing all our curtains vs buying ready made.
I spent $63 for clothes at Northern Reflection and saved $85.00 and got free shipping. I hope things fit!
One item is for summer; the other item is for fall. There were three other items that will come in. I usually buy one or two items
going out of season but on sale for the next year’s clothes.
It was an expensive week as I had 4 taxi trips to and from the hospital. Tests at the hospital cost nothing.
I spent more on food than usual. Safeway had buy one get one free on chicken thighs, and a great price on beef stewing meat.
Our weather coincidentally is much like Margie from Toronto’s. It was plus 16 degrees celsius today. startsTonight the temperature
falls drastically and tomorrow night snow starts. Then we have at least 4 days of snow. I have to go to the dentist so I hope I can
get home before the snow.
While waiting at Emergency I read 200 pages of my novel, The woman who loved. It is based on a true story about a famous WW II spy.
I am interested in Lilliana’s comments about Cabrini. Andrea and Virginia Bocelli sing one of the songs in the movie and Virginia appears in it.
Unfortunately, I don’t think the movie is showing in Canada,
I did chores today. It is the first time I’ve ever had to sweep pooled meltwater off the driveway. By late this afternoon, finally, most of the pools had evaporated or been absorbed into the ground. At least now there is a clear path where one can avoid the ice. I shovelled some sand and gravel out of the storage bin, in case I need it. I rushed to put my recycling and composting into the bins.
A friend gave me some mandarin oranges and a very thick pork chop. I used the oven to bake the chop and a frozen entree.
It was so beautiful outside. I waited for my friend with groceries. While I was waiting, I watched a chickadee excavating a nest hole.
Soon I heard honking and a pair of Canada Geese flew overhead. The robins are back.
Who is the author of the book, please? I am having trouble finding it.
I wonder if it is A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II by Sonia Purnell. I’ve not read it but have been told about it
Sorry, Brandy. There’s a typo in my original post. The title is “The Spy Who Loved”, by Claire Mullet.
For some reason, I’m making lots of typos this week. The author is Clare Mulley. There is a subtitle “The Secrets and Lives of Christine Granville”. It gets fairly racy at times.
Just a guess—I think she meant “The Spy Who Loved”
I am enjoying watching spring come to life in my neighborhood. There are stands of daffodils in bloom. The trees are almost ready to begin spreading their blossoms. I opened my bedroom window for the first time in months yesterday afternoon and enjoyed the fresh air.
I finished knitting a pair of socks using stash yarn. I have started a sweater using stash yarn, two colors per row, with each row changing colors. It will take a while to complete, but I have the time and the yarn. The library and podcasts keep me mentally engaged.
Someone in my building was getting rid of some puzzles. I took one 1,000 piece puzzle and spent the next few days working on it. It was great fun, but I worked on the puzzle almost to the exclusion of everything else!
A friend recently returned from a trip to India and brought me a bag of cinnamon. It smells terrific!
While it used gas, I took a friend to two doctor visits. She doesn’t have a car and have trouble walking. I was able to knit while she was in her appointments. She also did some grocery shopping.
I enjoyed a potluck dinner with neighbors.
DH and I walked to our community St. Patrick’s Day parade and enjoyed being in the sun. There was also free entertainment that followed the parade.
I am able to make meals from much of what is in my pantry. I do grocery shop each week, but it is mostly for fresh fruits and vegetables and milk. We don’t each much meat, so that keeps my budget in line.
Enjoy your week, everyone!
Brandy,
Your flower photos warm my heart. So beautiful. Glad the garden show went well.
Thank you GardenPat and the 2nd lady who last week made her first purchase at Flash Foods App. Last week, the store that is the pick up location for Flash Foods was having a buy 7 items get them for $1 each making it worth the drive to that store. So I tried Flash Foods and my kids and I are thrilled! It was easy to use. Log on the app and pick what you want and pay there. Go to customer service at the store and pick up the food. We got a bag of produce for $5. There was over $10 worth of items in the bag. Tomatoes, limes, potatoes, onions, and bell peppers. Some of it was super tiny and some of it needed to be eaten that day or the next. It was all very yummy! My kids were excited to get foods I usually do not buy.
I got a diamond painting project for Christmas and discovered a new hobby! I like doing it while listening to podcasts. Only thing, I do the projects pretty quickly. Facebook suggested an coloring book page. I joined it and decided I am going to start coloring. It amazes me how beautiful people can color. I like color pencils so I am giving that a try. My son is taking an art class online so I am going to watch the section on color pencils. A couple of coloring books and set of color pencils will last me a really long time. Something fun to do while listening to podcasts that cost a lot less.
Reading everyone’s comments here always inspires me. That’s a great score on the table, Brandy. So nice to finally have what you wanted.
I worked through a pile of mending. Most of it was little things – sewing on a button, fixing a hem, repairing a small hole, etc.*I found a pint of homemade yogurt in the back of the refrigerator that had been there quite a while, so I used it to make pancakes one morning. I froze the extra pancakes for another breakfast.*I made a batch of granola and two loaves of sandwich bread.*All of my seedlings are coming up – those in the greenhouse and those under grow lights inside.* I sewed a bag for my yoga mat, using scraps.
The table sounds nice! My grandmother had a lovely old mahogany dining table and chairs, but I have no idea who ended up with them after my grandparents passed.
I’m getting behind on my garden digging, so I need to get that moving faster. I’m removing strips of sod, laying down barrier and mulch, and putting raised beds on top of the mulch. Weeds are a constant battle in Florida, and I just don’t enjoy bending way over to pick weeds out of the ground these days, so I am elevating the garden beds and trying to keep weeds from growing up into them. It’s also easier to improve the soil this way. I definitely get more produce out of the raised beds than I ever did out of gardens in the ground.
I repaired the frayed edge on a wash cloth.
I ordered a few things from ThredUp with a free shipping promo.
I pruned some berry bushes.
I used a store credit to get pullouts for my bottom kitchen cabinets and installed them myself. I also re-organized my cabinets as I installed the pullouts and found a number of things that could leave. Getting rid of clutter is frugal in the long run, in my opinion.
I put away my winter table linens and put out the spring placemats that I made from oilcloth my sister found for me for about $2.00 on clearance.
I’m enjoying ripe loquats from our tree – it’s the first time in a few years that they didn’t get frozen.
Happy Spring, all!
Happy Spring! I am glad the garden tour went well; your pictures are beautiful as always. What a fine on the table. God blesses us with things we want. Does anyone have a favorite canning book they can recommend? My stepdaughter and I are going to try canning some this year. Our church hosted the first Thursday Community Dinner, and we were able to meet and speak with some new neighbors. My husband and I are still taking our early morning and late afternoon walks every day. I bought a new dress for easter for $5. I got it off of a clearance rack, it is sleeveless, but I can wear a light sweater with it. I have donated some dresses that I can’t wear anymore to local clothes closet to be given away. I made some sourdough bread, but it was too hard, so I made croutons out of it. The croutons were a hit with the family. The library is giving away glasses for The Great North American Total Solar Eclipse limit 2 per household that is on April 8th. I got us some when getting more library books. I ordered a baking book for new ideas and to teach me more about baking bread. My rose bushes are greening out. I love them so. Thank you Brandy for making time for this blog.
I have a canning book linked on my canning page!
Brandy, so happy to hear your garden tour was a success! I can’t believe you waited 10 years for the table! That is a frugal patience I can’t imagine! Last week I cleaned out all the freezers. Most of what went into the trash was excess zucchini from 2019 from my garden, and fruits that had melted because the freezer door had not shut all the way, then refroze. However, there were a few chicken and fish items that were buried and went into the trash. Now that it’s just the two of us, it’s much easier to keep track of, and I have been busy cooking large batches. My one freezer is filling up with freezer meals and a good number of them for us and others are going to my youngest daughter’s home. They have a three month old and she is starting back to work, so it helps them out. I have done little shopping as we have most of what we need, except fresh produce. I have also been deep cleaning and moving things around in the house. We plan to sell off quite a bit. At least it is all in one place so it makes it easier to list. Practicing contentment with what we have. Thank you for taking time out of your very busy life to continue with this blog; it is such a blessing!
We had a ham dinner last Sunday, the 10th. Along with cauliflower with cheese sauce (cauliflower from the garden via the freezer) asparagus and fruit salad. As you can imagine, the ham made for ample leftovers. Made homemade pizza for Pi day. Pizza pie, my favorite kind. We bbq’d on the 17th, chicken thighs and hot dogs from the freezer. Made coleslaw and asparagus to go with it. Made sausage and cheese biscuits – 8 of them. Breakfast for the DH and I for 4 days.
We have had several lovely days. Cleaned out the flower beds from the winter, also the oregano, chives and rhubarb. The DH trimmed some branches from some trees that shaded the garden last year. I shelled more of our pinto beans. It is kind of relaxing to just sit and shell beans. I listen to music and let my mind wander.
Best deal was cabbage for 29¢ a pound at a local store. I got two heads. Think I will get another one today before the sale goes off.
Had popcorn for a snack once each week. I love popcorn, but limit having it to once a week.
Dollar Tree had seeds at four packages for $1.00. Got beets, zucchini, lettuce, carrots, green onions, cilantro, dill and cucumber seeds.
I relaxed and read a book. Don’t seem to do that often, so it was nice.
Hope everyone has a good week.
I’ve been working on my spare room, trying to get it looking nice once more. So far I’ve mended a comforter I had on hand, moved pillows from another room to use on the bed and cleaned deeply. I’ve just been out to my shed to retrieve artwork I think I can use, once the frames are painted.
I went out to the garden, such as it is, this morning and noted that the celery is hanging in there, the garlic is up, oregano overwintered well, sage is coming along once more and chives. Parsley is coming up that I planted in the fall. I harvested the last of the carrots, most were very small but I didn’t thin them as I ought to have done. In the compost I spied a broccoli stem that had apparently rooted and was putting up a new plant. I’m curious how that will do when I transplant it.
Indoors, I’ve had the Swedish ivy take off finally and have already trimmed and rooted a couple of pieces. I think I will cut and try to root still more. I had an African violet that I thought had two plants in the pot. Nope. There are FOUR. I repotted one and will repot two more as soon as I buy a bag of soil. The coleus cuttings I rooted and planted are already looking very nice and I’ll be so glad to add to them to my pots this spring. I also have an Australian fern that rooted a baby fern. I’ll be planting that soon as well.
I dug about in the freezer and found some older prepared foods (leftovers I’d frozen) and altered my menu to use those up. I have been trying to be more careful to rotate stock in the freezer and using first in rather than last in items. It does mean each time I make additions I have to take time to rearrange things, but that is a necessary thing.
I mended three clothing items. I bought a dress for a wedding from Amazon that is quite nice and will be a bonus as I will be able to wear it often in the warmer weather. Now to find shoes or sandals to wear.
I went over my budget and found one or two areas where I can make adjustments to cover mowing costs for the summer. I’ve been going over each month’s delivery from Amazon Sub and Save to be sure we actually need what is being shipped, it is the best price and it is coming at a sustainable rate rather than getting an oversupply.
I am hosting family Easter weekend. We will have 18 here, I think. I will buy a ham (hoping they are on sale) and will cook a turkey breast I have on hand. The only issue I’m running into is that there is one family that will whine and complain and go hungry rather than eat leftovers so the idea of serving sandwiches with the leftover meat for supper that evening is not going to work. I will need to figure out a completely different meal and prepare it ahead. There is no such thing as takeout in our area, so I can’t direct them elsewhere to pick something up.
My son cleared out his kids’ clothes and then delivered clothing to a girl and a boy cousin (my grandson). My daughter will not need to buy her son a single thing to begin school this year except his backpack and lunchbox. Everything else will be handed down quality items. My daughter in turn will donate hers to her niece for her kids and a friend who has a slightly younger boy. I love that my children do this.
Hi Brandy, could you please share some of your favorite books? Thank you!
I have so many books that I love! What kind of books do you like? Perhaps I can narrow it down that way.
Oh, what a lot of lemons – what a beautiful tree! Glad to hear your garden tour went well!
I went to the family dinner with my fathers family that I mentioned some time ago – he and his siblings inherited money from their rich (unknown) uncle in America and they wanted to gather the family on that occasion. It was very nice to see my uncles, aunt and cousins that I haven’t seen for decades – some of them I haven’t even seen before. I enjoyed talking to people and it was so interesting to hear stories from my fathers siblings who grew up under very different circumstances than today. I will try and meet up with some of them again soon.
I have small chili and snack pepper plants on the window sill – I will replant them as they get bigger and place the pots outside. My lettuce has germinated and I have sown tomato and basil seeds – all from seeds I collected in the garden last year. I have already weeded a lot in the garden and cut down wilted plants from winter. It is good to feel a bit ahead just for once 🙂 I hope to bring out our own compost next week – the municipality gives away compost bins to encourage people to home compost, and we got one many years ago. My son helped me put plastic on the coming potato bed to heat the soil so we can get potatoes as early as possible.
My husband and I still takes turns to teach my son at home every Friday. I have found some very good and easy English books at the library, with free audio, pictures to talk about and simple but interesting stories, that he can read aloud and translate. We have a small notebook for grammar.
We get a lot of books from the library – I have just read a translation of the book ‘Wintering – the power of rest and retreat in difficult times’ by Katherine May, that I really enjoyed. It is a long time since I’ve finished a book so fast! Apparently she also has a very popular podcast series, that I might try listening to one of these days.
Have a nice week everyone!
Oh, forgot to mention, that I tried the split pea recipes someone recommended in here a couple of weeks ago – Ethiopian split pea curry and Greek split pea puré, and both were so good. They are definately going to be dishes I make on a regular basis. Thank you to whoever took the time to link to the recipes!
I got a book from the library just with recipes for dishes with Danish legumes – split peas, fava beans and green/brown lentils. A lot of the recipes are on this page: https://puredansk.dk/blogs/opskrifter – a firm that has specialized in selling Danish legumes and teaching people how to cook with them. Unfortunately the page is in Danish, but most can be translated with Google if you know that fava beans are ‘hestebønner’ (translates to horse beans 🙂 in Google which is the literal meaning), split peas are ‘Ingrid ærter’ and green/brown lentils are ‘anicia linser’. If you just want the split pea recipes, here is the link: https://puredansk.dk/blogs/opskrifter/tagged/aerter. I thought about your search for recipes with split peas, Brandy, and I think some of the recipes here are so good and inspiring – but it might be to much trouble being in another language.
Hi Brandy and everyone
Amazing work on bringing
your utility bills down and so good that you are getting more rain. In the UK we are getting a lot of rain and I try to think of you and not complain.
I grew a carton of cress this week and mean to get back into the habit of growing one a week.
I had a voucher for 20 percent off a houseplant at the garden centre and bought something attractive but not too expensive.
My husband bought some used plastic storage boxes off Facebook Marketplace and is using them upside down as cloches to warm up the veg beds. He used his soldering iron to make holes so air can circulate and seedlings won’t rot. These were much cheaper than normal garden cloches.
We sowed seed for cardoons.
I sold an item on Vinted.
I needed a replacement lightweight summer dressing gown and found one online for £25 and as a first time customer could have £10 off so I’m very pleased with it for £15. I’ve been looking for ages and everything was just too expensive.
My husband declined an invitation to a dinner.
I cut the end off a tube of handcream and used up the very last of it.
I was given leftover milk to bring home from my floral group.
I found two books I wanted for £1 each in the charity shop. They each have two novels in one book.
I decluttered more cupboards and found some thread and fabric I can use and had forgotten about. I donated a bag of unwanted sewing items.
I made some small presents for friends birthdays using £1 jars from Lidl, filled with chocolate mini eggs bought on a deal. I stuck match lighter paper on the bottom of the jars so when they’ve eaten the chocolate they can put matches in the jar and keep them handy, much prettier than match boxes.
We had work done on our kitchen range which will save us money in the long run. The workman was full of useful information which will help us run it efficiently.
The electricity cap amount ( I think it’s set by the government to stop the electricity companies charging us crazy money) is going down in April and our electricity provider let us know they expect our bill to be £95 per annum less and the cap is expected to go down again in July. Its unlikely we will get back to pre energy crisis levels though.
Stay safe everyone.
What gorgeous photos of your garden! I’m glad the tour went well.
I was able to get some good deals on groceries this week. Chicken, fruit, potatoes and my favorite brand of pasta sauce were all on sale at Kroger, so I stocked up. Also, I got a pint of dairy-free Ben & Jerry’s for $2.99. That will be a nice treat for my birthday next month, since I rarely eat ice cream any more.
I combined a $5 off coupon and a cash back offer for iHerb.com to get some specialty ingredients that aren’t available at local stores. I didn’t have quite enough to get free shipping, so I added a chocolate bar (on sale) which more than paid for itself by putting my order over the minimum.
I reorganized my pantry to put older things in front and to be better able to find what I want.
I got a free haircut from my mother.
I noticed one of my t-shirts was looking a bit ragged, so I demoted it to pajamas. It will go nicely with the old sweatpants I often wear to sleep.
Poppies are my favorite flower. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos with us.
The Seattle area has had several days of warm sunny weather. I enjoyed being able to have the windows open, sit on my patio, and take walks without wearing a coat. The rain will return tomorrow.
Safeway had asparagus, broccoli and cauliflower on sale for 1.49 a pound. Bought some of each. Stocked up on decently priced ground beef in one pound packages and put some in the freezer. Had to rearrange/clean out the freezer to do this, and have been eating various food items that got lost in the back. Some were a bit freezer burned, but otherwise fine. Made iced tea several times. Bought a short dated ham (4lbs) for half price, and put it in the freezer to share on Easter.
My sister walked over (she lives 1.5 miles away) on Saturday, and we sat outside and drank iced tea. Her husband needed their car, so I drove her to an appointment. Was able to visit a nearby park while she was at the appointment.
Bought some plastic eggs for $1.25 at the dollar store to make two Easter arrangements. I contemplated buying some other decorations, but decided to just use what I already had. That worked just fine.
Hello, frugal friends from the crazy Appalachian Mountains of southwest Virginia! By crazy I mean the weather. A week ago it was 82 and sunny. Today it was 25 and spitting snow this morning with a high of 48. March came in like a lamb so I guess it will go out like a lion.
In the past two weeks we have:
*made homemade bread and rolls using sourdough starter. I used the discard to make pancakes, too.
*used $2 rewards at Food Lion to buy sale tomatoes and 4 slices of deli ham. Normally I do not buy deli meats anymore but since my surgery my appetite has been off and I am not eating as much as I need to. It could be due to one of the many meds I am on so I will get that checked out soon, but when I have a craving for something I usually get it. I had a craving for a deli ham sandwich with mayo and tomatoes. So I only bought 2$ worth of ham using the rewards. The tomatoes were .89$/#.
* I found markdowns of bagels 6ct for 1$ so I bought 2 packs and will save them for this summer’s family beach trip. I also found 2 loaves of wheat bread marked down to .75/loaf.
*I used digital coupons to buy Pringles, Special K cereal, yogurt and English muffins. Some of these items are stored away until our beach trip. The Pringles were Buy 5 item and had $1 coupons on the package so they ended up being about $1 each. That will last us the week at the beach this summer with 9 people.
*Used a digital coupon to buy a little Easter candy for our family celebration.
*earned an extra 500 loyalty points with the Kroger Friday coupon.
*Used our solar generators to recharge our devices.
*A friend is closing her hair salon and gifted me with 2 bottles of hair conditioner.
*I walked and did YouTube yoga for exercise.
*I am taking part in a 3 session study on cooking at home at the nearby university. It pays $90.
*It rained a couple of times saving me watering the spinach and lettuce volunteers in my garden.
*Trimmed my hair and bangs.
*My granddaughter helped me planned our family Easter celebration. She made a cute bunny pinata out of a brown paper grocery bag which we filled with leftover Halloween candy. She came up with the idea of putting clues in the plastic eggs which will lead the children to the pinata. I thought it was a great idea and less candy involved believe it or not.
*I bought the loss leaders last week of .49/# carrots at Aldis and the .39/# cabbage at Kroger.I also found 3 bags of perfect lemons in the red bag section of Kroger produce. Each bag had 4-5 lemons for .99!
*Used my military discount at Joann’es plus purchased a few sale items for Easter.
*I save my butter/margarine wrappers to grease pans when baking saving my spray oils.
That is all I remembered to write down for the past 2 weeks. I miss hearing from our frugal friends in other countries. I love hearing about things in other countries. Brandy, it sounds like your garden tour went well. Sometimes smaller is better. I wish everyone a safe, healthy, frugal week.
Wow, the height on those daffodils around your central bed is insane! Do you happen to remember the variety? They’re sooo beautiful!
I have positively delighted in all the reels and pictures you’ve been sharing of your spring garden this year. It just keeps getting better and better, and with all that rain you got, it just looks lush. Keep ’em coming!
I’ve racked up a decent number of frugal wins since I took last week off. It’s a good thing too, because spring on the farm is EXPENSIVE!!
https://www.toloveandtolearn.com/2024/03/19/weekly-frugal-wins-spring-officially-arrives-along-w-all-the-bills/
Love the lemons and the pie! Gas is $2.92 gallon at SAMS in University town but $3.20 to $2.40 a gallon elsewhere. Since my Oral/jaw surgery, and the fact I have to eat soft foods for four to six months, I made beans, soup, baba ghanoush with an eggplant I bought, soup potatoes, scrambled eggs, etc. I still make regular food for my middle kid but he has been really sick this past week so I did buy him Wendy’s because he would eat that. I am astounded at egg prices, even at Aldi. $2.92 a dozen! I just work, go home, and walk in the neighborhood, rinse, repeat.
Gas is over $4 here and eggs are close behind.
Yet the official inflation rate is low–and they don’t figure these costs in that. It affects everyone. It’s a real struggle.
We just returned from a family vacation. While traveling, we packed our own food so we didn’t have to buy airport food. I made muffins and packed fruit, cheese , crackers etc in a small cooler bag. Brought our own water bottles. Flying home, we stocked up on food from the hotel- I always bring ziploc bags so we can easily take food to go. We did one excursion but otherwise no souvenirs or extras. We only use carry on luggage so no extra suitcase charges or waiting around at baggage claim.
I sold some stuff on eBay and FB. I bought some used books on eBay before the vacation that weren’t available at the library. I cleaned and did some decluttering before we left so came home to a tidy house. I did buy a new swimsuit for the trip but my old one had completely fallen apart and it was time. We bought a few small gifts as we were celebrating a birthday on vacation but kept it simple and usable. I had thrifted a few clothing items and sun hats for my son before we left, as he just went through a growth spurt.
We reduced our thermostat while we were gone and have had an unusually warm winter, which helps our heating bills. I’ll start working in the garden this weekend and get seeds started, fix up the cold frame and get ready for spring.
I cleaned and vacuumed my car at home. It had been too long. I resisted paying to get it detailed.
While working on tax paperwork, I noticed some odd credit card charges on my business credit card. Realized it had been stolen. Called immediately to get the card cancelled and they reversed the charges (some were still pending). Now I have to update all of my auto pay accounts. I’m glad I caught it.
Hello, frugal friends!
It has been long last week. My mother in law had her third stroke last Tuesday and we’ve been scrambling to prepare for a possible trip to move her to nursing home. That didn’t happen as Medicare will not pay for it (!) On top of that, my husband’s been dealing with a bug and alot of his usual medical issues. I feel completely off kilter on everything. I don’t even remember what I prepped, shopped for, ate or just forgot.
Now that we know we aren’t traveling, my mind can start to settle a bit and go back to planning meals etc. My son is on 2-week spring break and he eats everything as he’s an athlete. Am blessed that the food pantry needed my help today and I was able to pick up a few things to add to the daytime menu for him.
Tomorrow I took work off from the office (PTO) and am doing some consulting for a friend’s company to earn a few extra dollars. All helps out as my husband’s still not approved for disability. He hasn’t worked since 2022. Trying not to be discouraged, but sometimes it’s a huge weight on me.
I did submit some salary studies to my boss that show a person with my experience and education is being under paid for my role. I’m putting in God’s hands for it all.
Working on making better use of my time. I go watch my son’s jv volleyball games and then head to the library around the corner for an hour or so to work on my writing. Far more productive than running home for an hour or 2.
That’s all the news for now. Have a blessed week.
Robbie
You sound as though you have the weight of the world on your shoulders at the moment Robbie – why do things always happen at once? I hope that things can get sorted with your MIL so at least you know she is looked after. It is terrible that your husband’s disability claim is taking so long as well – it is a lot for you to deal with. Remember to try and take care of yourself.
Robbie, there’s a fb group called ‘The Sandwich Generation’ that is very supportive around being caregiver to both the generation older than us and the generation younger than us. It’s both a support group, and also a huge source of info. I’ve definitely learned a lot! Best of luck as you continue to juggle everything!
Its been a rough couple of weeks for us in Central Ohio! We switched the daycare that our youngest is in due to issues at the old facility. The new one is closer to home and a much better fit, but more expensive. We are hoping to get him into kindy this fall and finally eliminate this expense! I have done the usual grocery shopping in the pantry first and that meant putting together some odd meals – including fish sticks served with stuffing and home canned peaches! It was fine but not what I would rather have next to my stuffing 😉 I have re-committed to doing a free youtube exercise video every day AND I have stuck with my walking pad habit – just what I need to ensure I am in top gardening and canoeing shape for this summer!
TJ’s Sweet Home (@tjssweethome) . Thank you, I know you are extremely busy & hate to ask but I am perplexed.
Life has been keeping me busy as well. We have saved money by cooking or bringing food with us when we can. I am not buying extra things. We have kept our heat down. Turn off lights when not in use. Things are very expensive. I’ve decided that trying to be healthy is one of the best ways I can save money. So I am hoping to exercise more and eat healthy and work on getting more sleep when I can. Reducing stress would help as well. We are shopping in the cheapest store that we can find and buying items on sale.l. I am planning on going over your recipes again. I liked your article about eating beans. I like beans, we have some, and they are healthy. So, I will be cooking more beans.
It has been a snowy, cold weekend here in Michigan. I keep coming back to the blog to look at your gorgeous flowers and blooming gardens. All of my daffodils, tulips, and iris are up from the extremely warm February and March we have had. They are not blooming yet. The trees and lilacs are in full bud, and I have small leaves emerging on my rose bushes. I am concerned that a prolonged cold snap will destroy my chances for fruit on my trees this year. Strange weather indeed. With the time change my hens have been laying about a dozen and a half eggs per day. I am happily filling my fridge. I almost dropped my teeth at Aldi last week. Eggs were up over a dollar from the previous week @ 2.62 per dozen. That is equal to a gallon of milk here. I am being really strict on consuming leftovers. My family does not love them, but I have learned to have a day between the original meal and the leftover meal. They seem to do better with it that way. I bought strawberries for .99lb and am making jam, freezing for smoothies, and eating fresh. I saved 68.00 on that sale. I tried to get a meat deal at Aldi on burger, that was supposed to last 2 weeks, but they were entirely sold out the first week. Won’t make the mistake of waiting on loss leader anymore. I am searching for deals on gasoline daily as my husband is spending about 25.00 per day on gas to commute. He makes double any job in our community pays, so it is worth the cost. I am still waiting to see how much more our new insurance costs compared to his previous insurance. Trying to look for a smaller vehicle for commuting, but used prices continue to increase as people just cannot afford new. I have replaced many disposable items with reusable. I use reusable lunch baggies, bowl covers, and sandwich containers. This has saved me so much money in the year that I have implemented these changes. Working on a new budget to meet some financial goals along with paying bills and putting food on the table. So grateful for all of my blessings! The ability to be frugal and plan ahead has really helped me feel more in control. Thanks to everyone who takes the time to post. I feel so much more positive after I visit this site. All over the world we are doing our best to keep ahead of shortages and inflation.
It’s been a frugal week in Houston, TX.
I took the kids to a (free) church Easter egg hunt, where they got plenty of goodies.
I was able to share some extra plastic eggs with a friend, so she didn’t have to buy any.
There were lots of good loss leaders this week.
I bought several of the refrigerated 16″ pizzas at Joe V’s: mainly the $2 cheese pizzas, but a few $3 pepperoni pizzas. These are a great value, and we love to dress them up with our own toppings.
I can’t make homemade pizza for this price.
Same for the Sam’s rotisserie chicken: we love the flavor and it’s cheaper than the smaller raw chickens at the grocery store.
I opened the windows when the weather was nice.
I sold a few more things on Mercari and Facebook Marketplace.
My dad bought me Whataburger for lunch one day, definitely a treat.
Hope everyone has a nice, frugal week!
my husband surprised me with a cake on the discounted rack. When he went to check out, it rang up full price, and he had to get the manager, as well as the clerk involved. But he got his discount.
When he came home and told me the story, I told him, “You win the Competitive Grocery shopping award today.”
Frugal wins: library videos, reasonable grocery sh0pping, and cooking at home. DH had to drive 40 miles away for a car repair, and he did several errands for me while there.
Frugal fails: Had a houseguest who LOVES eating out. We ate out more than I wanted, but the rest of the family were thrilled. I just don’t find value in eating out, and the whole process is so time=consuming.