Hello everyone!
My pause from blogging ended up being a lot longer than I planned.
Among other things, I was able to finish several major repairs to the irrigation (including building all new valve boxes in some of my older valve boxes) in my garden with my father’s help. This was of utmost importance, and they were not small projects. I also had to replace many trees and other plants that died after last summer’s many days at 120° F/49° C, and I was spending every available minute out in the garden taking care of these things.
I was able to resolve my website’s technical issues just last week, so pages should load properly now!
So, without further ado, let’s get back to talking about saving money!
This past week, I did the following things to save money:
I harvested roselle hibiscus, lemon verbena, and blue pea flowers from the garden and air dried them to make herbal teas.
I harvested okra, hot peppers, a bell pepper, a gew green beans, eggplant, and Indian Snake cucumbers from the garden.
I harvested seeds for long green beans and okra, which I will plant next summer.
I cut flowers from the garden for myself and to give away. My mother has been finding vases for $0.50 and $1.00 each at garage sales for me to use to give away bouquets. Since she goes to garage sales almost every Friday and Saturday here, she is able to find vases easily. Thrift stores and the dollar store are other good sources for inexpensive vases, if you’d like to do the same. I have found when taking flowers to people that most people don’t own any vases, so it’s helpful to have a vase for the bouquets that I gift.
Rather than buying a new copy of game we used to have (but the children wore out years ago), I asked my mom to look for it at garage sales. We play a lot of games, and while we have bought many new, we can usually find the classic board games at garage sales for $1 to $2 a game. Last week, I asked my mom to find a game where we had completely worn down the pieces. She found two copies of it–including a brand-new one that was still sealed in the box.
I sowed seeds for lettuce and beets in the garden.
I sowed some older seeds for flowers and spinach. One type of the spinach seeds I sowed came up (even though spinach seeds are usually only viable for a year). I plan to sow lots of older seeds this fall and winter in hopes that they’ll come up.
I stopped by two garage sales in my neighborhood on my way home one day and got a purse for $3, a vintage rose brooch for $1, and a pair of brand-new earrings for $3. I plan to slightly modify the earrings using beads I have and give them as a gift.
My mom bought me a dress for $3 at a garage sale and gifted it to me. It fits me well and I will get a lot of use from it.
The weather was beautiful all week. I opened the windows and doors and let the cooler morning air cool the house.
What did you do to save money this past week?
This year I started a very small vegetable garden. Do you find that vegetable seeds take longer to grow than the packet says
I’ve missed you and so many of my friends. I’m happy to see you back. Hugs everyone. My mind is whirling like a tornado after having my phone stolen. I will stop back in another day.
I’m happy to see your return to the blog and look forward to reading and participating in the weekly comments! I enjoyed your Instagram posts during your blogging break.
Hello Brandy!
It’s so nice to see you are able to blog again, I’ve missed you. I’ve been following on Instagram so I’ve seen the projects you have accomplished and love seeing you dressed up with lovely jewellery etc.
Straight into making life beautiful for less….
I made my Christmas puddings this week, I make enough for 2 years because they last very well.
Made a big pot of soup for several meals using butternut squash from the garden and stored garlic, onions and marrow. My husband bought the harvest loaf at our Harvest Festival fundraiser and I froze the loaf in big chunks which I defrost when we have homemade soup. Today’s chunk has the little harvest mouse on the corner which I will give to my granddaughter.
This week the garden provided cooking apples, kale, courgette, tomatoes and flowers. We picked all the medlar off our tree.
I redeemed points I have been saving for a long time from my consumer research panel and bought new walking boots and hiking socks.
I sold a couple of items on Vinted.
I spent some time looking through cookbooks for ideas for non meat meals.
The weather is very mild which is delaying lighting the wood burner and some days the heating doesn’t come on it’s so mild. Every little saving helps.
Good wishes to you and the family.
Penny in the UK
Thanks for sharing! The harvest loaf tradition is new to me and I found some beautiful pictures of bread loaves with cute little mice.
So glad to have you back ! By watching your Instagram it looks like you’ve accomplished a great deal
So much! Thank you!
Slowing down more than we’d like to admit, but have found some “work arounds” to still get things done!
I started making shelf stable convenience meals and starters. (Anyone who knows me knows I’m lazy and cheap! 🤪) I invested in some butter powder, cheese powder, etc as a couple FD food companies have gone out of business. So I got the big #10 cans for 50 % or more discounted with free shipping. It’s been worth it for us. I made shelf stable Alfredo sauce, a nice Bisquick- type mix , using butter powder so it doesn’t need refrigeration and has a longer shelf life than the mix with shortening. Made the Magic Mix to make cream of soups as well as any roux. Made several “Helper” mixes for beef and chicken and will use the chicken and pork chunks I canned and ground beef I have precooked and portioned out in freezer. Basic and simple? Maybe. But ingredients are clean and if/when we are tired and tempted to order takeaway, we can instead grab a jar and add meat and within 15 minutes, the main part of dinner is done!
Just bought a 2+ pound boneless beef Chuck steak for $7.99 using Flashfood. Worked out to $3.78/pound which is over my price point (over the past 8 years)of $3.50/pound for boneless beef. I may just cut it into chunks and pressure can it because I am regularly using my canned meats.
My side gig of quilting has exploded! I never would have anticipated that with the economics of 2025. But all year it has been this was. Business has more than tripled. My daughter and I are averaging 24- 30 quilts per month between us! Since we only work 5 days/week, that averages to 2-3 quilts every week from EACH of us! We haven’t raised our prices and make sure we buy ahead when there is a sale on any of our supplies.
A friend in dire circumstances has a medical situation that makes her legs drain fluid. Her doctor recommended using size 2 Huggie snuggler disposable diapers to wrap around each leg to keep them from leaking all over. She’s been getting the small packs at Krogers, etc, but doctor suggested going to Sam’s club for larger, more economical result. We offered to get them for her as a gift. The pack of 148 was over $40! But then, Hubs had a thought (that’s why I love having him on my team!) He went on BidFTA auction site and found a pack the same size (shipping box was dented but not broken) and we won bid at $8!! What a blessing!
Hubs is repairing/replacing chicken coop right now hoping to finish before it gets any colder. We hired a friend’s 18 year old son to help with this so it’s getting done much faster. Sadly, this is the final week that he will be available.
But, part of being frugal is being able to pivot and adjust to changes, so I’m sure we will be able to find other options.
So happy to read about how things are going for you, Brandy! How many of the kids are at home? And looking forward to reconnecting with so many of your commenters who always have ideas that I am thrilled to incorporate into my frugal life!
Gardenpat in Ohio
I have just five left at home now. It feels like a small number. 😂
Hi Gardenpat! What a treat! Would you mind posting how you made the Bisquick mix? I have powdered butter to use. Thanks so much!
Laura S.- Here is the DIY Bisquick Mix using butter powder. I found it on Sutton’s Daze.
INGREDIENTS
5 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup baking powder
3 Tablespoons sugar.
1 teaspoon salt
1 Cup butter powder
INSTRUCTIONS
Combine the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter powder to the dry ingredients and mix well, ensuring the butter powder is evenly distributed throughout the flour mixture. Store the mix in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, like your pantry, or in the refrigerator or freezer for longer storage.
🧇 Waffles with DIYBisquick Butter Powder Mix
Instructions:
2 cups DIY Bisquick mix, 1 cup milk (or water) 2 eggs, 2–3 tbsp additional milk or water (for butter powder hydration). Preheat your waffle iron. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk. Add the Bisquick mix and extra liquid. Stir until just combined (a few lumps are okay). Cook according to your waffle iron’s instructions. Serve hot with butter and syrup—or freeze extras for easy reheating!
🥞 Pancakes with DIYBisquick Butter Powder Mix
Instructions:
1 cup DIY Bisquick mix 2/3 cup milk or water 1 egg 1–2 tbsp additional milk or water In a bowl, beat the egg and liquid together. Add the mix and extra hydration liquid. Stir gently until combined (don’t overmix). Heat a lightly oiled griddle or pan over medium heat. Pour about 1/4 cup batter per pancake. Cook until bubbles form, flip, and cook the other side until golden. Serve with your favorite toppings.
🧁 Biscuits with DIYBisquick Butter Powder Mix
Instructions:
2 1/4 cups DIY Bisquick mix 2/3 cup milk or water 2–3 tbsp additional milk or water Preheat oven to 425°F. In a bowl, mix the Bisquick and all the liquid just until a soft dough forms. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet (for drop biscuits), or roll out and cut if desired. Bake 8–10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool slightly and enjoy warm!
Thank you so much, Gardenpat!
Gardenpat, when we were kids my Dad prayed every dinner and he would pray,” for us to be mindful of the needs of other.” You have consistently lived that out, and I see it here once again!
Jean, my grandfather prayed the same prayer! As I read your post I heard his voice in my memory. “Bless this food to our use and our lives to Thy service, and make us ever mindful of the needs of others.”
That’s a lovely prayer.
Just wanted to let you know that I was looking at old posts and saw one where you gave us your favorite canned salsa recipe. I had a lot of tomatoes and peppers this year and made five batches! I agree, it was yum😋.
So very happy to see this! Garden pat alerted me that you had posted! I’ve been on IG but it just wasn’t the same. Very happy you were able to get those important and big projects done. I started reading your blogs from the beginning as I was missing them and the community. 🥰
Make sure to subscribe if you’re not already! It’s good to be able to be back; the technical issues here were a real obstacle for me, but they’re resolved now!
Technical issues can be so difficult! I’m glad you got them resolved…for your sake and our joy at having you back posting!
CherylB in Tennessee
Have missed you terribly, Brandy! Enjoy you on Instagram, but this Community is truly special! And we learn so very much! This might be the best Christmas present of all!
So glad you’re back!! Will enjoy following your gardens and lifestyle!! How many children still at home? Any chance of getting back to professional photography? WELCOME BACK!!!Will look for posts again!!
I have five children at home.
I am still photographing a few friends, but my primary attention is to my family and home responsibilities.
Hi Brandy,
So good to have you back although I follow you on Instagram. You have been very busy, indeed!
Welcome back. I was excited to see your reel on FB this morning announcing your return.
I just celebrated three years living in California, USDA zone 9B. It’s been an ongoing learning curve with my new garden coming from coastal zone 6A. I use your gardening resources all the time and thank you for keeping them available.
My only big money saver is watching the local grocery store sales and buying items that are on sale. The local store is an Albertson’s affiliate and is running a 50% off sale on select meats this week. Yesterday I found several packages that also had a $6 off coupon. I felt like I had won the lottery and stocked up enough meat for a few weeks.
Looking forward to reading everyone’s comments. I’ve missed the group but understand that life happens.
Cheers from SJ now in California.
Oh, I’m so happy to see a post from you! I have enjoyed your IG posts, in the meantime. To save money, we’ve been cutting firewood. There’s plenty for this year, but we like to stay ahead. A pan of GF bread ends were ground into crumbs. A batch of golden paste was made for the pup. The last of the basil was turned into pesto. After I shopped at Food Lion on the 30th, I received an email notifying me of a $3 reward, expiring slightly over 24 hours from when I received it! Lately, I’ve been noticing they no longer carry over the rewards to the next month, which stinks, especially when you receive them in the last few days of a month. I just so happened to be near a Food Lion on the 31st, so got a bottle of honey, so as not to lose the reward. With the latest Windows update last week, my laptop developed the blue “screen of death”. My husband worked on it, and somehow reset it. I’m so thankful for him. If it were up to me, and my tech knowledge, I’d be buying a new laptop.
I am glad this is back up and running! This year has seen a lot of changes for my family. I was so thankful for our garden and the jalapenos, green beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes it provided. My best year yet. We save by making sure we eat all the food that is brought in the house. The “dollar” tree store prices keep going up so I have started shopping at Dollar General (items are not a dollar) where the quality is better and prices are about the same as the dollar tree. The Dollar General has really increased their sales and coupons. So that helps. We are also buying foods that can be used for many things. Like flour tortillas which can be used for burritos, quesadillas, wrap sandwiches, and “chips” when toasted. Our biggest money saver is using ground turkey instead of ground beef. I spice the turkey meat up to be breakfast sausage or add beef bullion to it to taste more like ground beef. Oh and eating more veggies. Have a great week everyone!
I am so happy to see you are back to this blog! I moved your link back to the top of the bookmarks on my computer. I don’t do Instagram and am sure I missed some life-events, as well as the routines of days.
Love the bouquet photo on top with zinnias and bells of Ireland. We had a very wet spring, which was very good for my potted plants; I had wonderful petunias. I’m just starting to put my big pots away for the season, so they don’t freeze and crack. Most are from yard sales, saving a lot of money I’m sure, and I want to keep them intact.
The neighbors’ sycamore tree leaves are blowing into our yard in great numbers. They seem to be bigger and thicker than usual. I wonder if that is some kind of winter-warning of extra cold or wet coming. Our maple tree leaves haven’t started falling.
So glad to have you back! I’ve been following on IG but I have missed gleaning ideas from commenters. I had started rereading old blog posts. Frugality has taken a backseat with a lot of other issues going on, but we are getting back on track, starting with a weekly zero based budget that we are following, meal prepping on Sunday, and doing no spend challenges. I can’t wait to read new ideas from everyone!
So glad you’re back, Brandy! You have definitely been missed. My husband was without work for almost 4 months after an injury. He just returned to work today and we’re praying his body tolerates the work. We were able to receive a small amount of income from an accident insurance policy he paid for. He wouldn’t have gotten worker’s compensation since he is an independent contractor and not an employee of a company. But it has been a struggle! On top of our income being cut in half, most of our utilities continue to rise in price along with grocery and household items. We spent most of our savings and even ended up putting a couple of things on a credit card, while only buying/replacing/repairing what was absolutely necessary. Hopefully we will be able to get “ahead” once my husband has been back to work for a bit. I attended 2 parties recently (a baby shower and a double birthday party) and I made gifts from things I already had for both. I also had my son build me a weaving loom and I’m working on making rugs from large cuts of “ugly” fabrics that I wad given and have had for many years. These will be christmas gifts.
Huzzah! So happy you are back to blogging! I have enjoyed your Instagram but missed your posts.
I’m so grateful for your post today! Your blog has always been a source of beauty and inspiration to me. 💕
Welcome back! You have been very missed! Thanks for all.the help you provide.
Welcome back, I have missed your post. I’m glad you got the tech problems solved and your projects done.
Welcome back – you were missed here :). It’s getting cold here in the NYC area so I’ve made sure to have all the warm weather clothing available!
We had two of our young adults move into and within manhattan this month so it’s been a bit chaotic and spendy with helping them – but now I’m restarting my spending log for meals with our reduced household. Even meal planning looks different now – I’m sure you’re familiar with the feeling!
Learning to cook for fewer people has been quite a change!
I found that to be true too Brandy! When we lived in our old home town, I had five kids at home and neighbors, friends and co-workers who frequently dropped in at meal time. Many nights we’d seat 8 or more around the table. And then we moved here and two kids moved out, the friends came less often, we hadn’t any neighbors here so…Now I’m trying to remember I only need to cook for TWO!
This reminds me of my friend’s mother, one of 16 children, who shared how when she first married she cooked an entire sack of potatoes with dinner before realizing oh…I need to relearn to cook only for two.
😂 Yes.
Welcome back. I don’t do Instagram, so it was unknown to me if you had had something disastrous happen to prevent you from blogging. I’m glad to hear all is well. I was thinking how sites such as yours would be a great source of inspiration and encouragement for the many who are currently struggling during these challenging times.
Listening to people sharing their stories on Threads this past week, I think a lot of people are in trouble.
The one that really stood out to me today was someone who has a PhD in chemistry, had a job in her field and a contract for a year, and the government took back the funding. She’s now jobless, had to sell her almost-paid off car to get by, and is homeless now as well with a toddler.
So many people are struggling, worldwide, and things are only getting tighter for everyone.
Welcome back!
1: I made your bean chili this week! I added a couple of carrots.
2. My heat is still off. I had turned it to 64 to test it and it came on for one minute and then went off.
3. I took a pbj sandwich to work for lunch. I also took a burnt bologna sandwich with mustard greens I grew in my yard, for breakfast.
4. I bought a huge box of turnip greens from a local farmer for $10, washed and froze them. I have enough greens for three to four large servings per week for four weeks. I roast the actual turnips with potatoes, onions, and carrots.
5. I took a bag of potatoes and buried them in a box of shredded packing paper and put it in a cool dry place in my house.
6. I have been walking thirty minutes a day in my neighborhood.
7. I have chicken leg quarters I bought at 79 cents a lb. I remember I used to get them at 39 cents a lb pre Covid. Oh well.
Welcome back! So happy to see your blog up and running again! You are such an encouragement to so many. I hope you know that! Looking forward to everyone’s posts. I gleaned so much from them. The biggest way that I have been saving is something I learned from Pat on here. Flashfood! I purchase most of our meats from Flashfood and freeze it. Thank you everyone. I feel blessed to have this community 😊
I’m happy to see you back to blogging. I was missing your updates and those updates of so many commenters. Is your Husband still working out of state?
Over the past while I have had a number of health issues; broken right shoulder, broken left wrist, right shoulder surgery to repair the rotator and then a broken bone in my right hand. Yes, I have osteoporosis and have had a whole year of that drug you see advertised on tv (Evenity) that actually grows bone. My bone density showed more than 12% increase in my spine over last year. Now I get a once every 6 month shot to keep the bone I’ve grown. I’m still going to physio to increase mobility and get back the muscle I lost. My kids keep saying if I fall again I can’t go outside without being wrapped in bubble wrap.
It’s been a pretty active summer with family at the cottage. I did manage to go swimming right up until October in Georgian Bay. yes, it was quite chilly but I did it anyway. Now it feels like the gales of November have arrived with the time change.
We are still a bit sad that our team didn’t win the world series but we are very proud of them. All the team play what the pundits call “old school” ball. I guess they mean they act more like a team family than just a bunch of superstars.
My daughter has been without work for more than a year and is finding it a bit more difficult to find a new position. Good thing she saved a bunch while she was working and can afford to take some time to find the right job.
My oldest son has travelled a lot for his work to Abu Dabai, Salzburg and Colombia the past year. He gives perspectives on involving kids and parents in outdoor education.
The youngest son is now engaged. He and his fiancé have their whole wedding planned already. It will be quite small at maybe 60 people. Although her family would prefer a larger wedding they are standing firm.
There’s not a lot new here at the moment. We are eating a lot more vegetarian style meals and quite enjoying them. tonight we are having Lemon/Garlic Chickpea patties, steamed broccoli and salad. We are trying to make sure we use every scrap of food that comes into the house. I’m not always successful but at least I attempt it.
I’ve been following a young woman on Instagram called Alex Maclaren. She’s from Halifax and is amusing. One of her trade remarks is “we use what we have” when she’s cooking. I’m sure many folks would think her grocery bill large but it’s Canadian dollars.
Looking forward to seeing what everyone is up to.
Pat
My husband’s job requires him to be out of state to work; he works insurance claims for natural disasters, and we don’t deal with hurricanes, hail, tornadoes, or wildfires here.
Each assignment is dependant on the storm, and claims adjusters can work for several different companies–it just depends who needs work.
I used to work with independent adjusters at my claims firm and those people were the nicest and most hardest working people I know. When I talked to them their biggest complaint was being away from home months at a time.
Patsy, good to see you posting. I dislocated my shoulder about a year ago and despite 4 months of physical therapy, it still hurts and I can’t lift. I did regain most of my range of motion, though. I think it is always going to hurt and I’ve adjusted to it.
My husband was in hospice at the time so this was extraordinarily difficult both physically and mentally. My son was here to help during that last week before he passed. (He died last Nov. 26). Although Mike had not been doing well for about 3 years, he would not go to the doctor. Eventually I dragged him to the emergency room and we learned he had cancer, which turned out to be non-Hodgkins lymphoma. He died 29 days later. My daughter moved home so I am not living alone at the present time and we’re doing OK.
I am 79 years old now and Mike had just turned 80. We had been married 56 years.
I’m not doing much on the frugal front. Fortunately, years and years of frugality paid off and I’m in good shape financially. I was in a snafu with Social Security for nearly 8 months before I was paid in a lump sum, but we did fine. My daughter’s insurance is now paying her $250 month for groceries and OTC products so we’ve actually had a raise.
The moral of this story is to always be prepared. You will never regret having money in the bank. The biggest thing is to be able to distinguish wants from needs and go from there.
Brandy, it is good to see you back. Is your husband still working away from home?
I’m sorry to read of your husband’s passing.
My husband changed careers three years ago to become an insurance claims adjuster for natural disasters. It can be anywhere in the country. If he is home (which he is now) then he is not working and we do not have an income. This year has had no large torandoes or hurricanes, and very little in the way of hail damage across the country. He has had work most, but as no hurricanes have hit the U.S. this year, it’s a quiet time for adjusters.
Hugs with your husband’s passing.
Maxine, I am so sorry for your loss. I lost my husband suddenly 4 years ago and am still working through what life looks like without him. You are in my thoughts.
So sorry for your loss and health issues. 💜
would you post how you made the chick pea patties..60 person wedding isnt small..
It’s amazing to me that you have “only” five children still at home now! I wonder, would you share how many are working, how many are grown but not currently working, and how many are in college or similar training? I appreciate that you want to protect their privacy, but I wonder if you’d be happy to share such general information as I’d love to be able to imagine myself in your shoes one day 🙂
My eldest has almost the same birthday as one of your kids – maybe Hamish? I remember your birth announcement around the time I had my baby, and wondering how you coped with a baby that age plus all of the others! And he will be eight next year, and I have three more children too. Now people wonder how I cope! But it seems impossible to me right now that I could ever have kids grown up and living elsewhere!
It’s also amazing to me that you are sowing seeds! It’s autumn here now, beautiful but wet and cold. We have done a lot of preparatory work on the garden this year and I hope to reap the rewards next year. We have a set of raised beds which the nettles are trying to grow back into but I am pulling them up as fast as they come! Some are covered, I want to cover the rest when I get enough big bits of cardboard. We have spaces for nine new fruit trees – we just need to choose varieties and order them. I am *trying* to get the netting to sit over the fruit cage properly but it just *won’t*. It’s wonky and pulling the supports sideways somehow. Grumble, grumble…
But we got five new fruit bushes from a friend who is redoing his garden, and I have just bought a tumbling compost bin for our food waste. (I wanted one that will be vermin-proof, this is raised on metal legs.) I don’t recall reading about you having a compost bin, only burying scraps in the ground. Does it not work well in your climate?
Thank you so much, Brandy, for your encouragement over the years in making a garden that is useful and beautiful. I feel so much confidence in our garden plans thanks to you!
My daughter loves art so much, and I have recently bought some books from your art homeschooling page. She is so enjoying working through some of the step-by-step projects, and even my “not into art” son is joining in! I bought everyone their own set of basic watercolours, and it’s so lovely to all sit around the dining table working on our own paintings together.
We are going to save money soon by cutting one of the paid-for homeschool activities we do. We don’t feel like we are getting much out of it any more, either in terms of money or time invested, so we will see out the term that we have paid for and then quit. We find ourselves wanting to prioritise Scouts above various other options. I am just starting to volunteer with them to try and support the local troop and keep it running. They do such amazing work!
Cool season gardening is the most successful time in warm climates. Now is the ideal time to plant things like lettuce, spinach, radishes, etc.
I have lived here 25 years, and every year, right around (but usually on) Halloween, a cold wind comes and drops the temperature considerably.
This year, for the first time, it hasn’t come.
So the weather is just perfect. It’s gorgeous out.
Normally, we get 1 to 4 days with frost (just at freezing) in December, starting around the 4th.
Every year, it has been warmer, and last year, there was no frost whatsoever in my garden in December. It did not come until January.
This weather we are having now makes me wonder what winter holds, and if the few nights of frost we get will leave not eventually, but in the next few years. It would change the things I could grow in my garden.
Regular composting is rather difficult here. It dries out unless you wet it, and if you get it too wet, it molds. The wind also blows it all over the garden. I tried for years and have found simply burying scraps in the ground to be faster and easier for me.
My four oldest are moved out; one graduated years ago and works in her field, one is still studying with years of study to go (he’s planning to do graduate work and get more degrees), and the other two are working.
I, too, have been following on IG. What I really missed was the sharing from all over the world! Welcome back!
Welcome back Brandy. I missed you. I went back to the basics and have been trying to stretch the meat that we do have. I went to Costco and got 25lbs of rice and 10lbs of oatmeal. We still have enough flour for a few more loaves and still have some beans. I’m trying to make more meals with beans or rice, if not both together. I had played the amoe every day for the mcdonalds monopoly game so Ive been able to treat us evey now and then. I dont have the patience tomgo back every 15 minutes. My other daughter taught me how to go inside snd redeem a few at a time. I got so,e free items through ibotta and fetch. They are put aside for donating. K hope everyone has a fantastic week.
Welcome back! Add me to the list of folks without IG so I’m happy to be able to catch up with you again. You know, I think my teen was a toddler when I started reading your blog. Hard to believe how long it has been!
I’m so happy you are back!
Thank you for continuing this blog. I know it is a huge time commitment and I appreciate you!
Thrilled to see you back. You (and the commentators!) have been sorely missed.
We’ve been stocking up on staples-25# rice, 25# oatmeal, 25# sugar, 25# pinto beans and 25# quinoa flakes. It’s comforting to know that we have that safely stored. I have 2 collard trees in the garden now, I’m really focusing on perennial crops because they take so much less work. Collard trees produce year round, and I can propagate more from cuttings. I received the original cutting from a friend, so from this one free cutting we have had countless pounds of leafy greens. I’m zone 9a.
I’m focusing on the basics-making sure we have good shoes, warm clothes, enough blankets.
Your mom finds so many great things at yard sales! How lucky for all of you to have parents so close.
May I ask how you’re storing your staples ? I’m building our stockpile and hate for anything to ruin because I didn’t store it correctly. I usually store my stuff in old glass pickle jars
I freeze each item for 24 hours and then I have 5 gallon food grade buckets with gamma seal lids. They are kept in the house so the temperature is more even.
I have never heard of collard trees. How interesting!!! We have collard greens here in the deep South but they are a plant similar to turnip greens and mustard greens. Do the collard trees taste similar to turnip greens and mustard greens?
They taste like regular collard leaves, but they are perennial and produce all year. A tree will last for 3-4 years. I try to have a small one growing so when the big one finishes, I have one that is mature to replace it. Right now I have 2 starts and two one-year-old trees. I figure we need the cheap food.
Welcome back – these posts have been missed!!
Welcome back!
I have gleaned from your site for a few years and throughly enjoy❤️nancy
I have missed you profoundly.
I was on here just yesterday to check recipes. I wished you were back and here you are. Thank you!
Welcome back!
I’m so happy to see the new post. I’ve been here looking every week at previous posts and recipes. I mostly stayed home to save money. I read two library books and returned them quickly so others could read them. I made all meals at home. I’m helping one of my children learn to budget because of debt issues. I cleaned out my flower beds. I can’t wait to start reading everyone’s comments. Welcome back!
I was just checking for you two days ago. So glad you’re back. Just know you were missed. I don’t do IG so have been in withdrawal.
That has to be difficult with your husband gone often. Three of my four sons are in other states so video chats with my sons, their wives, and the grandkids are essential.
So happy that you are back! Greetings from Estonia!
Here many people are worried and starting to be more frugal because of our government’s decisions. In our family of five, we are still adjusting to two older sons doing the compulsory army service this year, I absolutely struggle with buying the right amount of food… Still trying to cook as much as possible from the pantry, using up everything, looking for sales and thrift stores.
Two days ago our youngest said that his bed is broken past any repairs – it started as my bed 45 years ago, so it was about time. We thought that building a new bed by ourselves is the only option… Then husband found a used bed frame yesterday and the mattress was affordable as well… Thankful.
So delighted to see you back again!!! Know you were missed dearly, though I totally respect your need for attention elsewhere.
I haven’t been keeping a list of frugal things recently, though off the top of my head in the past week we checked out a new to us bakery outlet store that my boss told me about. They had bread as low as .50 cents and 1.00 a loaf, but I was more excited about the Dave’s Killer Bread for $2.00! More money, but I thought it was worth it for the more nutrition. Normally I make all our bread, but since I started back working part time after “retiring” from being a full time homeschooler it has come in handy to have some extra bread in the freezer that I can just pull out when work keeps me busy.
I also went to a used book store, on the odd chance they would have a book I was wanting. They did, much to my surprise, for $5 and I even had store credit thanks to homeschool books I had resold there, so zero dollars out of pocket. 😁 Better than the $32 cover price!
So happy to be seeing familiar names from the commenters—I have missed this community!
Oh that’s fantastic about the book! How exciting!
Welcome back from another reader who doesn’t have instagram.
Blessings to you!
Laurae
I am so so glad you are back! I agree with others that IG is nice but not the same – I enjoy catching up on other regular posters’ updates as well when you have your weekly posts here and get so many ideas. I also regularly re-read your longer posts about saving money or finding encouragement in hard times. I hope that in the future you might have time to write more of those. They have helped me in the very lean years but also even now, when our income is slightly higher, but expenses are higher too, to remember what truly brings joy. I realized that I enjoy saving money even if we don’t necessarily have to, becuase a) I enjoy it, and b) you never know when you might need the money for something else.
My big frugal win this week had to do with spending, at least I hope it was a frugal win :). I was at Menards looking for fall bulbs as I have been late to the party this year, and one of the workers showed me a huge section of all kinds of bulbs that were marked down to clear them out. I think I ended up with about 500 bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses and more) for $60. I know some will probably need to be replaced after a couple of years but I am hoping that many will come back year after year.
Also, earlier in October I both researched and repair our dryer and replaced the water inlet valve on our refrigerator by following Youtube videos.
That’s a HUGE saving on bulbs! So excited for you!
Welcome back! I was so surprised to see a notification pop up on Facebook. (I don’t have or want Instagram…I waste enough time on Facebook as it is!) While I’m fortunate enough not to have to scrimp and save everywhere I can now, I still try not to be wasteful. I look forward to reading your posts as well as those from everyone else. I learn so much! My most frugal win over the past many months was when my washing machine kept throwing an error code when it got to the spin cycle. I researched that and first tried the recommendation of cleaning out the drain pump filter. It was an easy but messy job that drained more water than I thought it would onto my floor! And while I found some small change in there that I thought would be the issue, it only helped limp it along for another month before it started throwing the code again. I then went to the next suggestion of replacing the motor control board. I watched a step-by-step video someone had posted on You Tube probably at least 5 times and found a used item on eBay for $35. New would have been $175-$200! I watched the video another few times, including stopping and starting it the whole time I did the repair, so it truly was step-by-step for me. It solved my problem and gave me an added bonus of a boost in self-confidence! You never know what you’re capable of doing until you try.
We had that issue this year! One more thing I was dealing with . . .
Yay! So glad to see you back. 🙂
So nice to see this post. I’ve been watching with amazement what you created with the garden project. You and your husband are very talented. I was thank for IG postings to when I felt a little tired or lost. The colors from your garden helped a lot.
I consumed less this year. And stopped to appreciate more. I listened better.
Took in a “yard cat” who wanted to come inside. I made up her kitten room with a rolled up yoga mat for a tunnel, paper twists for toys. Found a clinic for a fifth of the price to get her healthy and spayed.
That was my vacation fund this year, and she was worth it.
I took this year to learn more from free videos or courses that I waited until they became free.
Thank you for posting and all the commenters too.
J – Always glad to read of someone else finding animals to be a worthwhile expense and sharing frugal ways to incorporate them into the family. Great job on finding such a savings at the vet! Ours is the most reasonably priced in the area but I still gently suggest they offer a multiple pet discount for those of us with many. Fingers crossed!
Hello Brandy
I am absolutely delighted you are back. I’ve missed you and have spent alot of time reading your older posts for motivation.
It’s wonderful to now be able to see replies from all you regular ladies too.
God bless you and your family
❤️
Welcome back, Brandy! I do follow you on instagram, but have missed this blog and the community of the comments section! 🙂 This is a very relevant time for your blog as well, given the current shutdown and struggles in the US.
Frugal wins: We were able to turn off our central air and open our windows for multiple days recently, because a cold front put our highs into the 60s and 70s. So nice! We enjoyed it while it lasted – now we are back up into the mid 80s. Am hoping it at least cools down for Thanksgiving. I received a couple of assorted gift cards at work for Boss’s Day and a departmental contest, and put them to good use. We have been working to keep our pantry and freezers well-stocked, including prep for holiday meals. This year’s Thanksgiving turkey and Christmas ham were both freebies from the sales during 2024 holiday season, and have been in our deep freezer. I continue to shop sales and occasional estate/garage sales, although we are cutting our spending at those. I have started a sourdough starter, so will see how that goes. Life updates: We had to put our senior kitty to sleep in July, which was quite sad. We are feeling very blessed to have good careers, health, a place to live, and good vehicles.
Pam – My condolences on the loss of your sweet kitty. No matter how long they live, it is never long enough. ❤️
Hi Brandy!
I am so happy to see your post and posts from other people I recognize.! Your blog is my absolutely favorite and I have missed your posts very much!
We are cooking at home. We try and use what needs used first. If we make too much for one meal we either eat leftovers or I freeze it for later. A lot of times my husband will take it for work or I will warm it up for my son and myself. We still use cloth napkins. A few times I have used paper plates when I needed a break from dishes. But that is extremely rare. Because we cook all our meals at home, I felt paper plates a couple times was better than eating out. Sometimes a simple sandwich is much appreciated. For fun we watch sunsets or just sit on our picnic table. Sometimes we will enjoy a sunrise. The absolutely best thing out here is when is rains and the sun comes out and we see a rainbow. We have chickens. So we eat a lot of eggs. I made sure we ordered chickens that are good foragers, so that means less feed than other breeds. It is fun to look at the different varieties on different websites. I also enjoy reading blogs or watching YouTube videos. I listen to my son’s music as I work in the house during the day. I have been making bread for my husband. I sweeten it with bananas and spaghetti squash and add spices or cocoa. He is enjoying it as well as my son and it keeps my husband from buying donuts and it is healthier for him. I enjoy it as well. My son’s poor dog is diabetic. I never knew a dog could be diabetic. He is a needy dog but we love him. We are doing our best to take care of him. I bought ground turkey at Aldi to make for him and we finally found a dog food he likes and that doesn’t make him ill, Nutrish. He actually likes it. Maybe we have spoiled him with people food. But he was not eating the more expensive dog foods that are usually recommended at vets offices. Finally he will eat Nutrish and it is cheaper anyway. Which is a relief since we buy him insulin and and have had expensive vet bills we we were worried that he was going to die. We do have a nice vet that does not charge an arm and a leg. We need to keep taking our dog to him. The emergency vet was terribly expensive. But we needed to take care of my son’s baby (dog).
I have not been buying clothes, none of us have. Not even at a thrift shop.. Although I did buy socks for my son and I may buy some socks for my husband and I as well. I found a set of sheets that are inexpensive that I am going to give as a Christmas present. I may make presents for most people this year. We have had so many unexpected bills. I’m thinking of making banana bread, pumpkin pie or candy as presents. Sometimes we buy a box of oranges for families for Christmas if we can get a good deal. We are so tight though this year.
I am thankful to have our home and vehicles and so far we have been able to pay our bills even if it is slowly being paid off. So many people are having a hard time. I am happy we have food to eat. And decent water. We are going to have to fix our pipe to our septic tank hopefully very soon. It keeps getting clogged. I know gross. We don’t need it to freeze in the winter. So that is an expense we will need to do very soon. Hopefully this week or next. I’m glad my husband has the know how to find out what is wrong. I’m just glad it hasn’t backed up. and my husband can clear it out temporarily until it can be fixed hopefully permanently.
I think we came out with another song since you posted last. It is called Jesus Has My Heart, by Jason and Tammy Littlejohn. It is on IHeart radio, Spotify, Amazon, Youtube and other sites. Here is a link to the song on Amazon.
https://amazon.com/music/player/albums/B0DPHKCRD2?marketplaceId=ATVPDKIKX0DER&musicTerritory=US&ref=dm_sh_DdpDfqb3NiJA1xbzoLdjZcYn6.
Again, I am so happy you are back Brandy.
I remember when we were living on our food storage, buying nothing, and had a surprise knock at our door the night before Christmas. Among the things there was a box of oranges. Having fresh fruit after eating canned and dried fruit for so long was such a blessing. Those oranges are still remembered. I hope you have the ability to bless someone in that way this year.
My family has always had an orange in our stockings as children, so the smile on their faces when they got oranges for Christmas was so nice to see. I hope we can do it too. Thank-you.
It is tradition in our family (from my Dad’s side) to have an orange and a quarter in the toe of our Christmas stockings. A wonderful reminder of when those things were rare and to appreciate simple gifts. Love that your family does something similar! ❤️
It was on my dad’s side too. I always wondered if it was because they were in Florida. But I guess it was a tradition going back even when they lived up North. I remember my grandma mentioning that she missed the good old days when homemade and simple gifts were the norm. She told me that when she was a kid Christmas wasn’t so commercialized. I wish I had asked her more questions, but I treasure every story she told me and every memory with her. I agree, it is important to appreciate simple gifts. I still remember getting a hand knitted washcloth from my great aunt that grew up during the depression and I still have a quilt from my Great Grandma that raised her kids during the depression. She got her material from clothes that people brought her. Those gifts took time and care.
Tammy,
A friend who’s diabetic buys his insulin without a prescription from Walmart and it’s MUCH less expensive.
I hope that will work for the dog, too.
Cara,
Thank-you for that information. I appreciate it. We will have to check that out.
Im so glad you are back!
We’ve been trying to save where we can. I’m in my third semester at a local university, and thankfully, with grants I’ve only been out about $2,000 this year.
We had the unexpected death of my sweet mother in law in May. It took me a month of driving back and forth to her house to get it cleaned out(a rental). Thankfully, her landlord worked with us what was owed, keeping her deposit, then throwing in a few things from her house(chairs, carpet cleaner, bed frame, and some cleaning supplies) to make up what was owed for that time.
We inherited some added expenses we didn’t plan on…we kept her vehicle for the kids so we have extra on insurance, and she has a rural piece of land we had to scramble to pay fire protection, utilities, and taxes on that we weren’t expecting.
I still work my full-time job and tutor, and my husband’s work has been steady.
Grocery prices are nuts. I try to save where I can. In fact, today I pulled out leftover pulled pork and slider rolls from the freezer to have for dinner with a pasta salad.
I’ve been doing typical stuff…staying home as much as possible, shopping sales, sending in rebates, claiming receipts for points.
I paid off my truck in May, then a week later, a lady hit it 🤦♀️. Thankfully, it was only cosmetic damage, but it wasn’t a good time dealng with grief and then that.
Can’t wait to see what everyone has been up to!
Hugs on the passing of your mother-in-law.
So happy you are back. I don’t do Instagram. I checked every week to see if you were back. Glad you got a lot accomplished while you were on pause. I’ve been trying to pay a lot extra on bills to get them paid off. In 2 months I will be paying off our Ford Explorer 8 months early. Also in 2 months I will be paying off our house in 9 years instead of 15. I can’t wait. My husband will probably retire in 1 or 2 years, so this will help a lot.
Looking forward to more posts and All the comments from people who feel like your friends. Welcome back
Hi Brandy and everyone.
So glad you’re back! As I’m not on IG, I was worried that something bad had happened to you or your family, so it was a relief to see, that everything is okay, and that you’ve just been busy. I’ve missed your posts and the comments from your readers, but fully understand, that you needed to be elsewhere and take care of your family and yourself! I’ve gone into hibernation mode myself after an extremely busy summer and autumn – I’ve had so many different projects that I’ve almost lost track of them.
A lot of the autumn projects have involved saving the abundance from the garden. I’ve been water-bath canning for the first time in my life, and it feels like a huge accomplishment! I don’t know anyone who does it, and it is also very uncommon where I live, so it has felt a bit scary! I live in Europe, where Ball jars are not available, and a lot of traditional recipes are not safe, so I’ve been on ‘a quest’ to find out about my options. I’ve ended on Weck jars and have had good use of Rose Red Homestead on youtube, that someone in here recommeded a few years back, as they have videos on how to can using Weck jars. They jars can be quite expensive, but I did price comparison online and found to my surprise, that the cheapest option was from a company selling organic vegetables in boxes.
I’ve also started lacto-fermenting, and I’m going to attend a free workshop this weekend.
I’ve started to go for a walk every morning and it has lifted my mood and my well-being a lot – completely for free!
My husband and father-in-law built a greenhouse this year, mostly from second-hand materials, and we have harvested so many tomatoes from it this year! We still have a few green tomatoes ripening on the kitchen counter.
I can really recommend the British magazine ‘Simple Things’, which I read online via my library. It has so many ideas for free and lovely things to do with friends and familiy, stories about makers, gardening, wildlife and mouthwatering recipes.
We’ve finally found a new school for my son, we have been really unhappy about the old one for years, but it is very hard to get a spot on the good schools around here. It’s a private school, so it costs us money every month, but not as much as I feared. He is very happy about it and the other children and the teachers are great. We can finally relax on this, which has been a great cause of worry for a long time. I’m so grateful, that we have the money, and it is worth every bit!
Yay! Glad you’re back.
Roberta in SoCal
This year has meant a total upheaval for our lives. We moved to northeast Tennessee for my husband’s job in January. As moves go, it was a total nightmare. I am finally starting to settle in. I have had many trips back to the place we lived for almost 30 years to collect stuff that we decided to move ourselves, as well as visit our children, my mom and friends. I have also had many more trips to Florida than usual because of special events. The place we bought needed and needs some major repairs, which we are slowly working through. These are not repairs we can do ourselves, sadly. It has been a costly year with more to come, but we are taking it slowly. Our son and his family moved in with us as he is doing his residency and we have plenty of room. It has been a joy having them and our grandchild with us! And…what has kept me from sinking into despair. My DIL is very frugal, and this old lady is learning a few tricks and seeing where she could do better! There are always new ways to improve. I cannot wait to put the garden in next year to start growing our produce again; it was hard to leave behind a 13 year old organic garden, but start again I will. I was SHOCKED to see the meat and butter prices at Costco. We had been pretty well insulated with full freezers, but now have to stock up again. We are going to buy half a cow, and probably a hog. The meat is much healthier and not as expensive in the averaging out. Chickens will be a new adventure come spring. One thing moving does is make you realize how much stuff you have, and how you can start using up a lot of it, or selling it. With JoAnn’s closing, I was wondering what to do for fabric. Well, all I have to do is go downstairs and shop my own fabric! It’s time to take hold of the frugal reins again and I am thankful that you have restarted this blog, Brandy, as it is great incentive and keeps me accountable. It is a very needed ministry 😊
Laura – I remember our conversations about you moving to NE TN, probably near me in NW NC. Welcome and I hope your new life and home will be a joy to you. Sounds like you are off to a great start!
So, so thrilled and thankful you are back to posting on your blog! This has been sorely missed, though we all understand and are grateful for you posting anything! This community is such a source of inspiration and finding joy in our everyday lives, thank you!
Next week e will have our first true frost here in Piedmont, NC, so lots of end of the harvest season garden work to do,picking five volunteer pumpkins to cure, pulling plants, harvesting stevia and herbs. I am trying to make fire cede with my ginger and cayenne peppers and will dry more peppers to give away for hristmas.My fig and pear tree will be done this week and they have born beautifully this year, I have dried lots of figs and pear leather and am going to try fig leather with some frozen figs a neighbor gave me. I give these neighbors greens throughout the season and they share their early bearing figs and this week she asked me to take a dozen Buttercup winter squash off her hands. I gladly obliged and am taking a few and sharing the rest.
I got several herbal books at the library today and am trying some new salves with the yarrow, calendula and plantain. I have lemon balm glycerite, elederberry syrup and a dandelion root tincture going right now.
I made me annual fall trip to apple houses an hour away and got 4 bushel to dry, make sauce with and eat throughout the winter and spring.
A friend that I clean house for has a meat subscription and they don’t like the chicken legs so she gives them to me. I cooked up the legs and packaged the meat, it made a lovely broth, and saved the legs to make more broth. Soup season is upon us and I love the variety and it helps so much to stretch the meals!
Blessings to all of you in this crazy world we are living in!
Happy to have your blog back in business. I don’t know how you manage to get so much done but I’m glad of it.
In Canada many people have been boycotting American products and travel for almost a year. This has been a benefit for Canadian businesses.
I am shocked to see the prices that Americans are paying at the grocery stores. Often similar to Canadian prices but we are paying in cheaper Canadian dollars.
My garden has been great this year and I’ve tried to use as much as I can fresh every day. We are still enjoying broccoli, chard, Egyptian onions and greens and fall raspberries! The shelves are groaning with squashes and preserved food. Today we cooked down the Hallowe’en pumpkins which will be used for pies.
You are an inspiration. Thank you for blogging. I’ve enjoyed everyone’s comments; it was good to catch up.
Hello, Brandy, and a hearty welcome back! What an absolute pleasure to see a new post on this site… and now to see so many of the previous commenters coming right back, too. It feels like the reunion of old friends! I have missed this online gathering of frugal-minded individuals — so much knowledge and caring gets shared…
im happy to “hear” from you..i was worried but i know you have a lot on your plate.. i love the encouragement i get from this site
Brandy-What a joy to see that you are back; I have missed your blog and the unending inspiration it provides.
We are doing what so many have already mentioned to save and being as positive as possible. My husband fixed our furnace by ordering a new part and installing it. I am shopping for insurance-met with a broker and am trying to ask lots of questions to make the best decision possible. We were able to get a power yard tool fixed for free because I had the receipt.
I have been thinking a lot about how thankful I am for the home economic skills that my grandma and mom taught me. At the time it was just how we lived but now years later those skills are invaluable. It was the whole package how to grow food, raise animals, sew, keep a budget, keep our house clean and above all not complain about what we didn’t have. My grown children and grands make me smile when they are harvesting tomatoes, making carmel corn from scratch and playing games, and repurposing furniture and tool that they are using.
Yippee! I can’t tell you all how much I have missed this blog and space for conversation with you wonderful people. 😁 Just last week I was lamenting its’ absence when my husband asked me something about “what those frugal people on that blog you read” would think about an issue we were discussing. Can’t wait to dive into all of your comments.
This past year has been largely been one of recovery from Hurricane Helene. It is a long, arduous process – one that continues and will do so for some time. But, we just this week had the culvert at the end of our driveway replaced and the driveway repaired so now we can more safely cross our creek and we don’t have to worry about the postal carrier and other deliveries making it up our treacherous drive. I never thought we would be in the position to accept FEMA assistance and it has been a very long and difficult process but we are most grateful. We delayed applying at first as we knew there were so many who has experienced more loss but one lesson of this whole experience is that it is OK to ask for help when you truly need it.
The recovery process has also reinforced how wonderful our community is and what generous neighbors we have. Living in the hinterlands you are accustomed to relying on your neighbors and they on you but we have seen countless examples of this as everyone helps one another. We have had heavy equipment work done for free and received food and we have done yard work and other tasks. It’s a wonderful giving economy and one I hope never goes away.
A neighbor gave us a 6×8 building we are converting into a chicken house. Their current home is needing to be replaced and this comes at just the right time.
Back in January during a particularly cold spell of weather, a neighbor called us about a cat she’d seen outside her house. We are “the cat people” in our community having caught and fostered dozens of cats and kittens over the years. It was 4 degrees F and, fortunately, she came right up to us – our easier capture ever! She ended up having frostbite on the tips of her ears and tail requiring amputation. She was also pregnant but it was ectopic and the kittens already deceased. She was emaciated and full of parasites so, in other words, a mess. My husband took one look at her and said, “We’re keeping this one, aren’t we?” He knows me so well! 😁 Our wonderful Humane Society arranged what they call an “in and out adoption” for us – meaning we were her fosters and they took care of all of her medical needs (requiring multiple vet visits, surgeries, medications, food, supplements, etc. – and, when she was well and healthy we officially adopted her for the bargain price of $50. Her name is Clementine and she has become a beloved member of the family. All of the above is to say that, for us, establishing and maintaining good relationships with people not only makes life more fulfilling, it is a valuable frugal strategy, as well.
On the increasing income side of things, I performed in three professional productions thus far this year, one of which my youngest son (age 13) performed in with me. It was such a joy to share the stage with him and he has definitely caught the acting bug. I also was hired as a guest soloist at a summer parish and have been asked to return next summer. I have two more productions coming up before the end of the year, one of which I was offered due to a good working relationship with the playwright. Relationships are so important! My boys have continued their entrepreneurial ventures – landscaping and odd jobs for one and selling art for the other. They both have worked hard to think creatively on how to expand their businesses and it has been fun to help them along.
By next week, I will have not one but two booths in two different antique shops. The first one opened less than two months after the hurricane and has been well-supported by the community. The other is one that has been in business for over 30 years but was, everyone thought, demolished in the hurricane. They had four feet of water sweep through the store and much of the store’s contents was swept away. But, they have worked hard to repair and rebuild and are opening next week. I was on the waiting list for many years there. The rebuilding process meant they increased the number of vendor booths. Funny to think I have this opportunity because of the hurricane but I am looking at it as a silver lining. Fingers crossed it is as successful as it always has been. My goal is for my antique sales to at least cover my boys’ braces, if not more. I also sold a LOT of honey and eggs this year which helps.
Those are some highlights of the past year and I am excited about the possibility of regular interactions and inspiration from all of you again. I’ve missed it!
My husband was working insurance claims for Hurricane Helene last year. I’m glad to hear you are able to make repairs.
Please tell your husband I said hi 😁😁😁
I figured your husband was busy at work somewhere in our region. I am sure his help was a God-send to so many. My husband chuckled at your message. 😁
Hi Mountain Mama Dawn!
How exciting to be in Professional productions! I’m so happy for you!
Thank you so much, Tammy!
Hi Mountain Mama Dawn! We must live fairly close to you. We are in Jonesborough, TN. Would you be willing to share the antique markets you are at? I am still getting familiar with the area and on the lookout for places to visit. I was at the Hudson’s General Store and Antiques in Kingsport with my DIL and we found some really great items! Thanks so much!
We are about 1 1/2 hours east of Jonesborough. The antique shops I have booths in are in Trade, TN – Farmhouse Shoppes and Country Road Antiques both on Hwy 421. Stop in if you’re ever in the area. 😁
We traveled through Asheville on the way to visit the Biltmore estate last June. As I viewed the devastation in the city and on the interstate, I thought of you and hoped that you and your family were adapting to all of the changes.
Thank you, Sue! We are just taking it project by project to avoid overwhelm. But, things are getting done. I appreciate your thoughts.
So glad you are back and doing well. I follow you on IG so I know you have been busy. Our garden did well this year. The figs had their best year ever. I have to do something with the ones I froze so I can make room for cheap turkeys. I already bought 2 for 25¢ a pound at Lidl. One will be cooked this weekend and the other went into the freezer. I’m hoping to get at least 6 turkeys. Our youngest get married in June. It was a wonderful, busy time. They are settling into married life well. They are looking at houses. Prices are crazy. They are looking at fixer uppers as her husband is in construction and she knows we will help too.
Welcome back!!
So good to have you back Brandy, you always inspire me.
My circumstances have changed dramatically since I last wrote. My health has taken a dive so my daughter suggested I sell the house and build a small one on her property so I did. After my husband died the yard work and upkeep of the house became too much for me and hiring it out was too expensive. So I’m in my very small house that has everything I need and I like being able to keep it up myself. We designed the house so that when I pass it can easily be incorporated into my daughter and son in law’s house. I pay a small “rent” to pay my share of the utilities and taxes which is a quarter of what I paid in my other house. I’m finding I’m shopping more carefully for food, which is about all I buy. Sunday is soup day and I freeze half for later, the other half will last me most of the week. A neighbor gives me 6 eggs a week which is all I need. I make dinner for my daughter and son in law once a week but we have to eat at their house as I only have room for one! I’m tying new recipes and eating more fish which is local to my area. Moving made me realize I needed far less than i
I thought I did and I’m happy in my very small house.
It’s funny how life can change so much in a year. We started the new year with a great Medicare advantage plan. Our flex benefits were unbelievable. But like all good things that are too good to be true , they were . I made financial decisions based on those benefits. The company crashed and filed bankruptcy. The $3600.00 I had expected to come in the rest of the year ( 900.00 a month in benefits X four )is now nonexistent. Seems mom told me not to count my chickens before they hatched. On our income , I likely can only cover a small portion of that. So rolling with the punches , I’m covering what I can and have defaulted on several accounts. Our daily life won’t change much but my credit has taken a hit and I will be making payments for a while. I opened the kid and I knew checking accounts that have a $400.00 bonus each. That will help cover the house taxes. A fellow blogger mentioned doing these offers. I’m hoping to cycle through all of them the next year. The good news is we are all doing well. My hobby of dumpster diving has continued to. It’s now 4.5 years strong and is quite a bounty. A local home goods store has tossed out so many items this last month it has been overwhelming. I handpicked a dozen nice candles. Unbroken/cracked w the lids on them. Sugar cookie has requested to take gifts home to the family this year. We have the women covered and need something for the men and 4 babies. My goal is pretty much to spend no money. I was able to use credit card points to pay for Sugar cookies one gift. My other children have collected so many items from the Home Goods haul , they honestly want nothing. We have stocked the house with blankets , comforters, sheets , pillows, towels , storage containers and so much more. I’m afraid that my hobby leaves me appalled at the price of groceries and items in the store. I was blessed with 10 lbs of asparagus and squash. Those are going into the freezer tonight. My cellphone was stolen this week. I owe $550.00 on it. I cried at having to make more payments on another one. I honestly was devastated to see that a phone case for my new phone is 80 dollars. I’ve learned the hard way that I must have an Otter defender box or I will end up with a broken phone. After so much anxiety over not wanting to buy it , I found one at the bins outlet for $2.20 . Our weather has turned cold much earlier than normal. We keep the heat off and rarely use it unless our pipes not freeze. I have learned something new. My house AC went out a couple months ago. I was afraid to spend down my savings to juice it up. We put 3 window units from storage into the house. They work great and the bedrooms are cold. My electric bill went down by half than its regular rate of running the whole house HVAC. Some time next spring , I will have the HVAV repaired but we probably will use the window units. 300 down to 160 is a win. I’m so happy to see so many friends back. Hugs
Be careful about naming places where you dumpster dive. That’s a surefire way to get the dumpsters locked up and/or No Trespassing signs posted. I hope you’ve checked local ordinances to make sure it’s not illegal.
Brandy,
It is very good to have you back. Like others, I choose not to do Instagram so I’m relieved that your absence was due to your being busy and not to some calamity.
So surprised and excited to see your post. Glad that you and your family are well. Although, I rarely commented myself, I have missed reading all the comments from everyone as well. Thank you for taking time out of your busy life to provide this encouraging space.
I am looking forward to doing some more work on our greenhouse this fall to get some of our seeds started in time in January & February for next spring/summer’s garden. We did not have a garden this year, but were able to go to the Amish community nearby and buy the produce that we were low on or out of to can, like green beans & tomatoes. We did have our sweet corn patch (but that’s all). We freeze what we need and have an abundance to give away to family, friends, neighbors & church family.
My husband also travels for his job. He is usually gone Monday-Friday every week. Saturday is the only day to get anything done around the farm that I need his help with. It’s hard sometimes but makes me more independent I suppose. He also has had some health problems over the summer and early fall that’s he’s recovering from. So we have gotten behind on several projects, but are beginning to be physically able to work on some outdoor projects the last few Saturdays.
I know others have asked about your children. And not to pry, but wondered how many grandchildren you have now. If you don’t want to answer, I understand. Grand babies are such a blessing. I hope you are able to see your older children often. As someone said it is harder to learn to cook less.
Again, so nice to see you back.
…..Vicky
I have been learning to do all the things–or to hire someone, or ask my dad, if I can’t do all the things.
My husband always took care of our one vehicle (and now we have to have two, since we live apart) and I’ve had to deal with various repairs and maintenance, whereas that wasn’t my responsibility before.
It’s been good to learn to do all the things (and who to trust and hire when I cannot). I’m now on my third mechanic, but I’m pretty happy with this one.
Like most, this year has brought some unexpected changes for us as well. I spent the summer keeping my grandsons in a town an hour away. My daughter paid me (not going rates but enough to cover gasoline and a little extra) and I stashed the ‘extra’ part away. I worked about 8 weeks with the boys and then they were back in school.
In August, I got serious about following the #everybitcountschallenge and used the money stash to restock our pantry and freezer. I also brought out the pressure canner and put things up, I made up mixes, etc. I restocked medicines for winter and went through clothing and linen supplies to see what all we needed. By the end of the month the pantry was sitting pretty, the freezer was full, I had all we would need for most of the rest of the year and I had only spent about $200 extra over and above our usual grocery budget. I stayed on top of things! It was very much worth it, too.
In September, I ended 30 years of doing frugal blogging. I’m not saying I’m done forever, but I’m done for the moment. I’m still writing and have plans to stretch my writing to other venues. I have a first book in mind. It will be a frugal one, one meant to help others see the food they have in a different way and get more bang for their grocery buck. I hope to get it off the ground in 2026 and published.
Also in September my stubborn man finally went to a dermatologist over a sore on his face he’d had for nearly two years. It was cancerous but thankfully not a melanoma. The removal left a five inch scar on his face, but it’s healing and fading and we’ve been assured that this cancer at least will not return. However, he will now be going in for a check-up every three-six months.
My 2005 Camry got new tires and such and then we discovered that we needed an additional $4500 worth of repairs on it. The car has 240,000 miles on it. We have a Honda Civic that is a 2006 with only 135,000 on it that my husband has pretty much changed oil in and otherwise left alone. He decided that while we made up our mind what to do with the Camry to take it to the mechanic and see that it was up for running as the main vehicle. $2000 later…well it is up to doing duty for us. In the meantime, my son has offered to do the necessary work on our Camry over Thanksgiving holiday. That will come in around $2000. No guarantee of course, but we have a very good car made in the US that is one of the ‘golden years’ models and we’re told repeatedly we can probably expect to get anywhere from another 1oo,000 to 200,000 miles out of it.
We have agreed to hold off buying another car for at least one more year, when John will be 73. At that time, we can make a tax-free withdrawal from our retirement funds and pay cash for a newer car.
I have raised my limit on meat cost per pound. I’d been diligently hanging on to $4 but these days I can barely buy pork for that, forget eating beef. I raised my limit to $7/pound and made up my mind to make do in other areas. I now bake all of our own bread and bread products. I use every thing that comes into our home foodwise. I’ve managed since summer to cut our grocery costs by about $100/month despite increasing meat prices.
Mostly I just keep going like every one else. One way to save my dwindle out due to this reason or that, but then I find another place to save a little bit so it always balances out. God is good and for that I am grateful!
I found out I had breast cancer in early February after flunking a mammogram I had at the very end of 2024. After the biopsy but before the pathology came back, I visited a credit union hoping for a personal loan for part of my 24% plus mountain of credit card debt I had accumulated while caring for 99-year-old-mom and keeping her off Medicaid and at home with zero help from the rest of the family. I had never paid a credit card bill late enough to show up on my credit report but my credit utilization percentage was sky high and my debt relative to income was crazy. I explained to the loan officer what my income and outgoes were. He then surprised me by telling me he thought I could qualify for a new credit card with a limit high enough for the ebtire debt with $0 balance transfer fees and a 0% introductory rate for 6 months and 10% thereafter (barring crazy prime rates). This was the Saturday after the biopsy because a snowstorm kept me from going there immediately after the biopsy. Monday I learned I was approved and set up the transfer of my monsterous balance from a bank that would not lower my interest rate even 1%. My personal financial crisis that had been building for 5+ years was resolved a day or two before my health crisis started. I fortunately had signed up for a Medicare Supplement Plan G when I turned 65 and had signed up for a Cancer/Heart Attack/Stroke Indemnity Policy costing about $25/month around the same time for its hospitalization/nursing home/hospice benefits to act as a poor woman’s long term care policy. I figured $100/day can pay for some assistance to keep me on my home and off Medicaid longer. It paid enough to cover that policy’s premiums for the next decade or two. I did not have to worry about medical bills or my budget while in the middle of radiation and being too tired to cook so I was ordering prepared food from Instacart and Doordash. And the benefits I wanted when I signed up for the policy originally are still intact. I have done quite a bit of PT and now OT this year trying to get stronger and more mobile. I just finished catching up on years of being too poor and too homebound with mom to get the dental care I needed. I purchased 2 dental policies that has left me with a nice positive balance at the dentist. After my regular cleaning next month, I am canceling the one that did not pay as much as the other. My income is small and so the cost of disposable incontinence supplies has been taking a sizeable portion of my social security check in addition to generating so much trash. I decided to try foldimg two Gerber flat folds to make a 16 layer pad and wearing it inside period or light incontinence underwear. It has worked better at home and for short errands out of the house than the generics I buy at Walmart. The tradeoff is a load of easy laundry a day. It did not affect my utility bill although I decided to try using a drying rack and was pleasantly surprised to learn how quickly single folds dry. No diaper pins or sewing was required. It is not inexpensive to stock up on a 2 to 3 day supply of basic cotton flat fold diapers and new panties but it saves me $5/day now. I have osteoporosis, an arthritic hip, spinal stenosis and an arthritic shoulder. I want to garden but do not want to pay for tilling or have to bend pr stoop to tend a garden. So this fall I am setting up 54 sq ft of 17″ high raised beds just off my patio and am filling them with cardboard, grass clippings, shredded leaves, old old firewood I inherited when I bought the house, and several inches of bagged garden soil. It is snowing some tonight but I have to get horseradish, hard-necked garlic, rhubbarb seeds and sunchokes planted before the ground freezes. I also have 4 baby Chicago Hardy Figs in the house I hope I do not kill over the winter to plant in the ground in the spring. I have started growing sprouts and microgreens too. I use Flashfoods to get half priced groceries although tonight I bought a $3 bag of mixed produce for the photographed peppers and ended up with a bag of tropical fruit. But the next time I am at a different location of the same store, I am picking up 5 regular sized salad kits for $10. I also started receiving the USDA Senior Commodity Supplemental Food boxes which provide about 90# of basic shelf-stable foods every other month at the distribution site behind a mall including 4# of government cheese. There is no waiting list in our area for seniors who meet the age and income requirements for this program despite the funding on a nationwide basis being enough for only about 700000 seniors aged 60+ with incomes ranging up to 130% or 150% of poverty depending upon the state. These boxes greatly reduce stress caused by inflation for me. I finally figured out how to fit 8 to 12 emergency food buckets into my 420 sqiare foot basementless house out of sight. So this week I gave away the rest of my emergency food stash to an elder in my congregation responsible for helping those who are food insecure. I am working on finding places for my vast book and pattern collection so I can further reduce my expenses by $70/month by giving up the storage unit so I can pay off that credit card debt much faster. Why? The roof on my little old house is aging. Shingles are not terribly expensive, but skilled construction labor is. So I need to be in super scrooge mode for the next few years so I don’t pile on more debt. I don’t need a roof immediately but I really don’t want to be paying for a roof and that credit card at the same time.
Holly,
I talked to my husband about your situation. We have a metal roof on our house. It is a lot cheaper, easier to install ,and resists high winds and hail. Our metal panels are rated for 40 years. So they last longer than shingles as well. They need to use screws with rubber washers instead of nails, because nails can pull out. We were happy to know that information before my husband and his brother put it on. I think that it would be quicker and cheaper to put on a metal roof. My husband said it can be put on an asphalt shingle roof as well. Sometimes they will roll roofing felt on it first. That makes it less abrasive to the metal. It could be an option if it is something you want or if you don’t have to have shingles in your neighborhood.
Tammy, I have often wondered how you and your family are doing. It’s great to read your news and see that you and your family are managing.
Hi Anne!
I’m happy to hear from you as well! I thought about you as well. We are doing alright even though prices have really gone up and we have had hospital bills. But we are ok. I hope you are doing well also.
My 93 year old Mum died suddenly in June. Despite having never had a large salary in her life she always lived below her means and we 5 kids are benefitting now from her estate. The money she did make came from real estate. She was a good lesson to all of us in frugality. We plan to use my inheritance to help my daughter purchase her first home as we are not in need of the cash.
This week my husband bought 2 dozen free range eggs from my nephew for $4.00 per dozen-as he had extras he insisted on giving him an extra dozen free!
For fun I still do occasional childcare-the last two families have paid me $30.00 pr hour which is a lot. I may be dating myself but when I first started out I made .50 cents an hour!
Hi I! I am that dated as well! My first real job paid $2.00 an hour working at our public library. All the babysitting I did was first for $.25/hour and then $.50/hour. Hard to believe, but it was a lot of money to me back then. I am so sorry to hear about your mom. My mom will be 91 shortly and the time is coming….
I bought my first car by babysitting at .50 an hour throughout high school.
It is great to have you back Brandy! It has been an incredibly expensive year for me: new glasses needed after cataract surgery, I paid for my own MRI (unusual in Canada but since tests ordered by doctors kept missing what was wrong I got fed up and paid for my own) — the best $1400 I ever spent as it showed the problem so now I’m on a surgery wait list, battery in alarm system went ( overcharged by the company so am waiting for their revised bill), then my computer had major problems. It was only a year old. Fortunately the computer came with Apple Care so the bill which would have been $3300 was “only” $399. It is ironic because I bought the computer on sale for a $1500 reduction. It had a French Canadian keyboard — it had taken me a long time to get used to the different keyboard. When Apple replaced the keyboard, they made a mistake and did not use a French Canadian keyboard so I now have an English keyboard and I’m adjusting again. But yay!! An English keyboard! So even with the repair bill I am still ahead by $1100 compared to the usual price. I broke my camera and lens – the $800 repair bill was paid by my insurance without deductible and without increasing my premium due to my having a separate rider.
I got the camera back just in time to take a few hummingbird photos before they migrated.
I have been working on clearing out my father’s old office. I have recycled many, many boxes of papers but as I go I have been compiling a history of his WWII military service. I have his military service record but it is confusing so I’ve watched for anything he wrote. I have been reading the War Diaries to fill in the gaps. Usually individual servicemen aren’t mentioned but he is. I only have 6 months of his service left to account for. I wrote to one volunteer military history association in England and got a wonderful reply – the historian there goes to the U.K. National Archives at Kew once a month and is keen to follow up a few things for me. I am her first Canadian contact and they are thrilled. In almost every box I’ve sorted, I’ve found wonderful photos and often negatives that I have never seen before. I had them scanned (and some printed) so I could put them in my electronic history. I am almost finished. It has been a massive job. I hired a friend’s brother to cart everything outside so I’ve sat outside and sorted there — occasionally I’ve seen an interesting bird.
I have missed reading everyone’s posts here and following Brandy’s activities etc. And I’ve really missed Brandy’s lovely photos.
Welcome back! You’ve been sorely missed and I was trying to adjust to the idea you never returning, so I’m very happy to see you! I don’t do any social media, so will be grateful to catch up here.
Both to be frugal and with decreasing mobility, I bought an upright freezer even though it’s just me. Did lots of research and when it hit an extra low $250 off sale, pulled the trigger. Now I’m trying to learn low carb/diabetic freezer meals, ideas welcome! I also bought souper cubes on sale to start making individual freezer meals. I’m so happy as my fridge freezer is TINY.
This may not be frugal, but I started a project removing all my dish ware, candlesticks, etc from cabinets, hutch, etc, this includes depression glass and all the items mom and I collected over our flea market/garage sale years into like w like piles. I swear the place looks like a hoarder house with all this spread across the floors. However, I’m able to decide what to keep, and have been finding missing pieces on eBay or the like for that, and will get rid of, hopefully sell, the rest. Though figuring out how to sell brings its own challenges.
Social security has messed up and lowered my check. They admit it’s an error, but said will take months to fix and I will continue with lower checks in the meantime. I hope they make good on their promise to fix and refund. I could not get anything in writing from them.
I donated cash to my local food bank after finding they didn’t accept food in glass containers. I’ve been on snap in the past and needed to pay it forward.
So happy this community is back together! I feel we need frugal tips more than ever right now. 💕
YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY – so happy I checked in periodically and see that you are back!
I missed your garden tales and gorgeoussssssssss photos and what’s up with your children.
Absolutely overjoyed to see you back Brandy – you’ve been missed! This has been an amazing community for years and so glad to see everyone back. Looking forward to learning from everyone x
So glad you’re back on blogland! I was wondering what happened. I love your practical tips and beautiful photos! Your garden is inspiring!
So glad you are back. Im also glad to see you planting okra. It grows so well in the heat. I still have 6 stalks bearing.
Another way to enjoy okra is to slice it, season it and dehydrate it. It is so good for snacking (that way). Cindy in Alabama