I harvested red noodle beans, okra, basil, and watermelon from my garden.
I collected water from the ac drip and shower warm up water in buckets, and used it to water my garden.
I bought Gala apples on sale at Sam’s Club for $1.27 a pound, which is much lower than I’ve seen them anywhere else.
I filled up my gas tank at Sam’s Club, which is about $1 a gallon less than everywhere else.
I cut bougainvillea from my garden to enjoy on my kitchen table.
What did you do to save money last week?
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What beautiful flowers! The photo of the bouquet in the empty bird feeder made me wonder – with your water shortage, do you limit how often you fill your bird bath? Interesting the little things that you might not even consider when you live where there is (normally) ample rain and you have an artesian well which overflows on a regular basis. I am beginning to find it hard to find ways to share that I have saved money – at least, anything new and interesting – as it seems more and more difficult to do. I just read online that our electricity is due to go up in the coming months. While we don’t feel like we use an inordinate amount of electricity especially with no a/c and heating our house with a wood stove and no bills for water (well) or trash removal or city taxes, there are still some ways that we might use more than some people since my husband works from home (computer in use) and we homeschool (so some computer use, eating at home most days so using some electricity for that at times) compared to those who are gone all day. But, everyone’s lifestyle comes with a price and where we save, others may need to spend and vice versa. If there is one thing I have learned after reading this blog for so many years is there are trade-offs to many things and most of the time a creative way to make it all work. I appreciate you all! The primary way I saved money (and my sanity!) this past week is to continue with some deep cleaning and clearing out of my house. The kind of cleaning where you get under and behind and on top of all the things and sometimes find things that fell there you have been looking for. 😆 I was especially productive one night when I foolishly drank an iced coffee at 8 pm (I got it for free with a coupon after dropping my youngest and his friends off at a camp out. Side note – I never drink coffee so why I thought it wouldn’t keep me up all night, I have no idea.) I was up all night and whipped through several cleaning and clearing out tasks in addition to doing a bunch of laundry and ironing. I kept thinking, “I am saving money since energy rates at this hour are lower!” and identified a few boxes of things to sell in my antique booth (I priced them and took them the next morning while I was still in my all-nighter haze and several things sold that day. Yay!) I also got a couple of boxes of things to donate and put them right out in my truck to clear my space and my head. I have kept up this momentum and cleaned (I mean really cleaned) my vacuum cleaner by taking it all apart and washing all the filters. Taking care of things makes them last longer so money saved – check! I also relocated some items I have used in theatre productions as costumes to my parents’ house. They have an extra closet they are letting me use as a costume shop. This saves future me (or a future production) money by limiting the amount of things needed to buy or rent. Other than that, all the usual boring things like combining errands, limiting trips, drying clothes on the line, comparison shopping for all the needed things of life, using what we have, taking care of what we have, gardening, eating out of the pantry, etc. When you write it down, it does seem like a good effort – maybe that’s one of the best things about participating in this space. We can (and should) give all ourselves a pat on the back. Have a great week, all!
Yes. I only fill it on occasion.
You wrote about things so many of us are doing and gave me a great reminder of somethings I had forgotten BUT your productivity at night after a caffeine mistake made me truly belly laugh picturing the whirlwind accomplishment, I loved it. Thank for the great humor, love your writing
Thank you, Pam! At least my bleary-eyed adventures proved amusing. I was laughing at myself at the time. 😊
Very well said! I love getting new ideas from you ladies, but it is also a reminder to do the things I have forgotten!
Yes, Jamie, I think we downplay the little everyday things we do thinking they are not interesting enough to comment on but they are the foundation of a frugal life. Give yourself that pat on the back! 😊
I really had to laugh at your all-night, caffeine-fueled cleaning and sorting spree.
Brandy, that is a beautiful watermelon! My one volunteer watermelon got eaten by a critter overnight and that was that.
I harvested colored peppers, green beans, kale, herbs and a few pears. I have planted second rounds of lettuce, carrots, kale, Swiss chard and sugar peas as things just haven’t germinated well at all. I have been drying herbs and making refrigerator dill green beans and cucumbers I found on clearance. Even though it was warm I made several pots of minestrone to use up the last of green beans, potatoes, zucchini and tomatoes( from my neighbor). I have frozen a bunch of green beans and peppers.
I found a couple of bags of organic lemons and oranges ( I will use to make fire cider), and apples that were .33#. I was thrilled, I had walked into the store and saw individual peaches and nectarines for $2.99# and had felt sick about prices and then went to the clearance section and felt like I had struck gold.
The unexpected massive expense is a huge sink hole in the middle of my garden that is growing and appears to be an abandoned well. We had one at our previous home. But upon reading about it , it looks like a massive expense to actually deal with it and I dread the work it will likely require and expense. As you have so often said, Brandy, his is why we save so we can deal with he u expected!
It is raining right now, which is much needed and cool weather is coming tomorrow so that definitely boosts my spirits!
Hope you all have a lovely week!
E
A sinkhole 😳
Your property/title insurance won’t cover the omission? You didn’t have the property surveyed?
The well would have been from a 1800’s homestead and likely had been covered up for a hundred years. We bought the house 25 years ago. Ìt has been slowing sinking over the last year and was never visible.
My history-loving heart went right to, “I wonder what treasures might be down that old well? Imagine it will be a bit of expense filling it in and a good thing no one discovered it in a bad way on a late night stroll round the garden. Hope it’s not too much trouble to deal with but an interesting turn of events, for sure.
Yesterday I brought home some organic produce from my neighbours garden out of province-much appreciated. Also got a huge bag of grapes on Flash food today for $5.00-perhaps 8 lbs? Dropped some off for Ann too as there were plenty.
Last week I spent $20.oo on 3 shirts at the thrift store on seniors day. Today I bought a seniors annual pass to my local rec centre-it is an expense but I think investing in my health at this age is a good thing.
We’ve been trying to survive the record high temperatures here in SW Missouri, for pretty much the entire month of September. There were a handful of days the ac got at least a partial day break, but it’s mostly been on nonstop. Added with the high prices, we mostly stayed home.
Hubby and the boy cut their own hair
I made sure to enter receipts on rewards apps for points
We have been eating from what we have for the most part. I want to clean out some of the stuff we have in the freezers.
Using reward points for food…pizza from Pizza Hut, cheeseburger from McDonald’s, free dozen donuts, and free entree from Mcalister’s.
Received some peaches, pluots, and plums.
Made peach crisp with the majority of the peaches.
Started buying some things for Christmas instead of waiting last minute.
My daughter’s dog had to go to the vet, then the emergency vet, then back to the vet so that was an expensive couple of weeks. She’s on the mend now, thank goodness.
We had donuts brought to the school one day.
Eating when I can at work.
Make sure we utilize leftovers. I am trying not to freeze much because I need the freezers cleaned out(at least enough to rearrange them)
Your flowers are gorgeous.
The last two weeks have been busy. I went to Moscow to visit my son, dil, and three granddaughters. I also did my volunteer work twice a week each week.
I dehydrated 12 trays of basil and 4 trays of thyme. Made granola each week, cooked two small pork loins. One each week. Made chow main with half of one. Made chili with home canned crushed tomatoes and home canned tomato sauce, onions and peppers from the garden, kidney beans we grew last year, and one pound of elk burger we got from a friend. Made garlic green beans BLT pasta and Italian salad dressing.
Made 14 pints of tomato basil sauce. Picked our first four ears of corn.
Got B1G1F pizza at Papa Murphy on Sunday on my way home from Moscow since I knew I would be too tired to cook.
Trimmed and prepped the garlic for winter. Also prepped the candy onions. Dug one hill of potatoes. Picked zucchini, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, and chard.
I think that is about all for the two weeks. Hope ever I has a good week.
I don’t usually post because It seems what I have to describe is pretty basic and boring.
It’s been raining almost every single day here, and raining hard. Thar’s meant no watering and plants love the rain so I’ve been having to cut things back. Unfortunately, it means we aren’t washing because we prefer to hang our clothes in the sun.
I was able to take advantage of an Azure flash sale for some nuts I needed., and we acquired onions, salads, tomatoes and celery from our volunteer work. We may go out for a mwa once a month, and we combine that travel with dropping items off at various thrift stores and recycling centers.
I’ve been mending a few things but have to wait until the kittens are sleeping because they interfere immediately!
I bought a vintage cotton canvas short work apron (that ties around one’s waist,hangs down about 8″ but doesn’t cover the torso) at a flea market for a dollar; it’ll be useful.
Thanks, Brandy.
I found an error from a hobby supply company, wrote them to tell them and they sent me a small surprise package that’s enough supplies for 2 small projects. I also left a review on another site for a poor quality product. They reached out and allowed me to choose a replacement of something else in addition to refunding the purchase. Otherwise, a lot of the usual for me. Cooked at home, rescued food and a 4-pk of TP, skipped non-essential stops on my weekend errands, read library books, used my FSA to get some eligible items.
Hi everyone,
If I can spend while saving money I’m counting it this week. I had planned to get some shelves for storage in the garage. Initially thought metal but found plastic ones that would more than hold the weight for far less money at Costco. I used the saving to pick up some clothing for Christmas gifts and some grocery staples.
My son brought home 2 dozen duck eggs from volunteering at the food pantry and decided he did not like duck eggs as a meal. I spent a few hours making homemade pasta to enjoy and freeze, along with spaghetti sauce. Rotisserie went to lunch, bones immediately to broth, and then the homemade noodles and rest of chicken rounded out a nice soup.
Weather’s been lovely so we have had windows open.
Harvested lots of bean seeds from dried beans from our heart wave. I’ll share the bounty with the garden club for them to give out in the spring.
Wishing you all a blessed week.
Robbie
The pasta idea was such a great way to use the eggs!
Our weather is finally starting to cool off into the mid-80s, but more importantly, the humidity is going away. We’ve also gotten some much needed rain but are still in a long-term drought.
In preparation for some early fall weather, I went through my seeds and pulled out the ones I bought early in the year that I want to plant in my tower garden by the end of the week, after I augment the soil. These will include two types of lettuce, green beans, bok choy, and two varieties of sugar pod peas. I harvested several bell peppers and a couple cucumbers this past week and those plants, as well as a yellow cherry tomato will also continue growing until our first frost, which can be as early as November 10 for growing zone 8b, but often isn’t until sometime in December. I’ll be covering plants as needed and bringing the tower garden inside for cold nights since I bought the wheels needed to move it around.
I’ve made the decision that I won’t be trying to grow all kinds of tomatoes, peppers and other vegetables next summer. For all the money I spent on the pots, plants, soil and soil amendments, I just didn’t get enough produce this year. The bugs (especially leaf footed bugs and tomato hornworms), heat and humidity that make gardening a chore rather than a pleasure, and the lack of rain for weeks followed by several days of deluge all negatively affected the harvest. I will grow some determinate tomatoes in the spring and many of the vegetables I listed in the tower (peppers have done great in it) which is easy to water, even daily. I’m fortunate in having farms, farmstands and farmers markets in different locations on multiple days each week, all within 15 minutes of me and many others less than 20 miles away. I’m the only one in my household so I don’t garden out of necessity and I want to enjoy what I do. Summer gardening isn’t it. I may end up spending more, but I’ll be happier and I’ll sort the farmers.
I cooked most meals at home and budgeted for the lunches I ate out. I made the lightest, best quiche I’ve ever cooked by using 12 ounces of ricotta cheese and 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream. I have had the cheese for about 3 months and the cream was in the freezer from when I didn’t use it all for last Christmas’ baking so I didn’t need to buy them this week.
I’ve lost 32 pounds since mid- June by eating low carb, high fat, medium protein and doing intermittent fasting, which is easy when you are 72 and fairly sedentary. I’ve found a lot of substitutes for favorite foods, such as using keto friendly tortillas as the base for my favorite pizza toppings. It may not seem like a money saving thing, but I’m improving my health and my A1C level is now down in the normal range. I think that will save me and Medicare money in the long run. I’m also comfortably fitting into a lot of the next smaller size clothes I already own.
As always, Brandy, thank you for these posts and thank you, commenters, for your input, too.
Congratulations on your weight loss! That’s exciting. Bringing down your A1-C is great news!
Gas is $3.76 to $4.14 a gallon. Mostly around $3.99 a gallon. I get a bag of 11 gala apples at Aldi for $1.99 but I can’t remember how many lbs., the bags vary between 10 to 11 apples. I have not looked at SAMs though for apples so they may be cheaper. I bought locally grown 2 lbs catfish nuggets for $3.97. I really can’t find good deals anymore.
There really don’t seem to be many good sales right now.
Buying more beans and lentils and having more meatless meals seems to be the best way to go, I feel.
When I am out doing other errands I always stop at several stores. I am lucky to have a lot of supermarkets near me. I always look at all of the clearance areas and meat mark downs. I grab for my kids and they grab for me. I also have a group text with several friends and we let each other know when we find great clearance and sales. People by me are always offering free food on my buy nothing group. We are not brand loyal or picky so we are happy to take it. Whatever we can’t use(because of allergies) I pass on. I also trade garden fruits and vegetables with friends, family and coworkers. I use Too Good to Go app to get discounted food too. Prices just seem to be going up and up every week.
What beautiful pictures. We replanted turnip greens in the garden. We were given some cucumbers and I made 10 pints of bread and butter pickles. I boiled a package of chicken drumsticks and made 4 quarts of chicken broth and a gallon of meat. I made chicken casserole and chicken salad with the meat. I can see the bottom of the meat freezer. I am going to try to get some mark down meat. We had a package of ground pork and made breakfast sausage. My husband made it to spicy for me but he loved it. He is going to help a neighbor process some hogs and hopefully he will learn some tricks to process deer this winter. Gas is $3.99 here in middle Tennessee.
Hi Brandy and everyone
The blue and white vase and the bougainvillea look gorgeous. It’s great that despite the heat you are still harvesting food from your garden.
I received my free pneumonia jab this week.
I found two tunic tops at a charity shop, one brand new with it’s labels still on. I’m so thankful for charity shops, I can’t justify £65 for a tunic but charity shop prices I can do!
I froze a chicken carcass to make stock when I’m not so busy.
I wrapped cooking apples in newspaper and stored them, oven roasted and froze bags of aubergine, bell peppers and tomatoes and my husband dug up all the potatoes, dried them and stored them in paper potato sacks. We offered potatoes to neighbours too and a young couple collected a good amount for their family.
We ate down the fridge to get ready to go on holiday without wasting food.
I am watching the temperatures to drop so that I can plant my fall crops. It looks like it will still be too hot next week, but I should be able to sow seeds in October.
The beans look so vibrant next to the okra and basil. You photography really brings in a new light and feelings of warmth and hope – even encouraging.
Husband & I were able to do a day date to an amusement park, due to extra tickets from last year and a packed lunch our only out of pocket was for 2 coffees on the way out. It was a great date on top of being cheap!
I will have a quiet house the remainder of the week, so I can get a little extra done starting earlier. I planned on an item a day of canning (ie beans the first day, tomatoes day two). Meals (leftovers) are pulled from the freezer to make dining for one easy:).
Searching thrift stores for mugs to give as gifts this year. Family on the west coast asked for headbands and gift cards – thankful as that should be affordable to ship.
I planted some cold weather seeds – turnips, spinach and salad greens. I am going to try and rig cold cover covering (with what I have) to keep them growing just a little longer.
Hope everyone has a calm and productive week!
I like your idea of searching thrift stores for gifts! My mom shops garage sales for gifts. Facebook marketplace is another option as well. A lot of people are selling basic everyday items right now, and I think that is going to be happening in increasing amounts as the price of everything continues to rise.
I agree! I see so many folks struggling bc of rising prices.
“an amusement park, due to extra tickets from last year”
Knoebels? It’s the only one I know of that does tickets. If so, I am EXTREMELY jealous! We went there for many years and loved it.
Yes, and it is pretty much the same since the last you visited!
Brandy, I love your bougainvillea. I once had one but we had to give it away as we didn’t have enough sunlight for it.
I cannot say I saved money but I did do a few proactive things that hopefully will save money in the long run. I am buying an anode rod to have put in my hot water tank by the furnace servicers when I have the annual furnace maintenance in about a week’s time. An anode rod can extend the life of a hot water tank.
Sadly my 5 year contract with the utilities company expired this month. I spent some time on the phone comparing rates. While the short term floating rate is much less, I chose to bite the bullet and renew for 5 years. I do think that rates for electricity and natural gas will soar due in part to global crises. Data centres will require a lot of electricity unless they too are fuelled by natural gas. The good thing is that although it is a 5 year term, I can change back to a floating rate once every 30 days and I could then go back to a fixed term if I so desired. I calculated that the increase in electricity will cost about $100 per year. I cannot save a lot of money on electricity as I use it mostly for operating my fridge/freezer and the furnaces. The utilities company has done away with some of the advantageous features of my old plan. I did ask for a loyalty rate and was given slightly lower rates. At least I’ll know my costs for the next 5 years.
I hired a certified roofing inspector and he found two small patches that need repair. He said the product, liquid membrane, is expensive (as it derives from oil). I remembered the name of a roofing company my friend had used years ago. The owner is semi-retired but he came and said he could do the repairs for a reasonable price.
As far as being proactive, I have finished restocking my wardrobe which I did over the past two years. Due to tariffs, clothing prices have soared. Also I stocked up on canned goods for the pantry. This is not only for emergency preparedness but also to avoid tariff-driven price increases. I suspect the price of empty cans will go up. Importers of steel and aluminum into the US will pay an additional 50% because of the US tariff on the raw materials of Canadian steel and aluminum. While some cans are produced in Canada, we buy a lot of cans from the US so when cans come back into Canada they will be more expensive because of the 50% tariff PLUS a counter tariff. Much like car parts that cross the border 6 or 7 times, the price of food cans may face a double whammy.
I was glad that I had an emergency supply of drinking water when my water had to be shut off unexpectedly overnight. Previously someone here asked how much food they should have on hand for emergencies. Personally, I feel that 3 months supply is a minimum. Brandy’s tips are excellent. I have dried beans, pasta, canned soups and some canned vegetables. I bought two bags stuffed full of squash at a great price from a farmers market and I bought several butternut squash at a good price. They all keep well. I have found that buying what is called “orchard run” apples and pears are much less expensive than bags of the same fruits. Orchard run means they are straight from the orchard and have not been graded. I got gala apples for 99 cents per pound. They may have slight imperfections but I have found they are much juicier than the bagged graded apples. I spent $49 at the grocery store and saved $46. I try to buy only on sale and comparative shop by reading online flyers. I am eyeing the bumper crop of mountain ash berries on a neighbour’s tree — also called rowan berries they apparently make great jam. I found 6 boxes of new jelly jars in the basement., I’m tempted to make jam but I don’t know if it’s tasty.
I am still working on gathering up items for an emergency preparedness bag. So far, I have a water purifying kit, matches, toilet paper, blanket, food, can opener, soap, shampoo. I’d like to buy a solar powered electricity kit so I could operate an induction element off of it or a kelly kettle for cooking fuelled with twigs. I have a supply of firewood outside. I have extra medicines. I am backing up my computer on an external hard drive which I’ll store elsewhere. I’d like to get a sleeping bag.
I read about the price of cans and it’s going to hit hard. I’m glad I buy bulk dried beans instead of canned, but on things like canned tomatoes and olives, the price increases have been huge.
I think part of the increase in canned tomatoes is not only due to tariff increases but because I think the production in Mexico dropped due to weather related and plant diseases problems. In addition, the US Mexico Tomato Suspension Agreement was terminated which resulted in a 17% antidumping duty on fresh imports. That led to Mexican producers reducing the number of plants they grew.
Thanks for this additional insight.
There are so many factors at play with food prices.
And more people than ever are needing to rely on food banks now.
Gas is above $6 a gallon here, which made me rethink how to plan for my errands. Besides grouping errands, I’ve decided running out of some food item, like right now I’m out of bread and milk, I will try to pivot to some unrelated meal ideas from the pantry. It also, is making me weigh the idea of which store to go to, the least expensive or closest?
I’ve been on the hunt for well over a year for a used KA 7qt mixer. Specifically, a discontinued model with the DC motor, which can be very difficult to find and often at high prices. I got one off eBay, at a fair price, but turned out to need some repair, which the seller agreed to partially refund for. However, since it came with $200 worth of extra attachments, I feel like I still came out ahead. I still love my 5 quart mixer, but it just wasn’t up to the job of being a big enough bowl to cool down meringue before adding butter to make Swiss meringue buttercream. This bigger size is really going to help me with my holiday baking.
Still trying to find somebody to put a roof on the house, it’s been a challenge because of a patio addition my mom added on decades ago, and most roofing companies are declining to do the work. I was not prepared for that answer. Only one company so far may agree to possibly do it. Been praying hard they will take it on. The governor has already declared a state of emergency for the coming storm season.
There is noise from the internet about truckers possibly going on strike, so looking to make sure my pantry is well stocked just in case. I need to do an inventory for areas low in stock. I got a stand up freezer last year and I’m not sure what exactly is in there anymore, so if anyone has tips on how to organize and keep track of this new to me type pantry, I’d appreciate it. Planning to revisit the archives here to see tips I’ve forgotten.
I’m only getting digital library books now unless it’s really something I need sooner rather than later.
Planning to retry going “no poo” aka no using shampoo to be more frugal. I’ve done it before and loved it, but interfered with coloring my hair, which I don’t do anymore. It does take a month or so for your natural oils to adjust.
Trying to think of new ways to be frugal is difficult, because mom grew up in the depression and many of those frugal ideas she passed on. For example, I’ve never met a piece of tin foil I didn’t wash and reuse. However, I need to learn the sales cycles of stores. Like best sales items to stock up on per season. What’s your favorite frugal tip?
Have a great week everyone!
For the upright freezer, I like to organize each shelf by type of item For instance, all the chicken on one shelf. Other meats on another. All the vegetables on one shelf. All the fruit together.
I’ve been adding more to the freezer in anticipation of the trucker strike on October 1st.
This is usually a good time to start stocking the freezer. September is usually when you can get pork on sale (if you eat pork). November will have turkey on sale. December will have hams on sale. Butter and premade pastry shells and puffed pastry dough go on sale in December. Frozen vegetables usually go on sale in January/February.
That said, I have seen fewer and fewer sales since Covid at every store.
I read yesterday that Kroger lost 700,000 lower-income customers, while gaining a millon higher-income customers. They’ve been having fewer sales for some time (my mother and I have both stopped shopping at our Kroger affiliate because of this). The lower-income customers have been priced out. Higher-income customers who used to shop at more expensive places have “stepped down” to shopping at Kroger, due to rising grocery prices.
That might explain why I’m finding so many good markdowns at our Kroger affiliate. Could the Whole Foods shoppers be refusing to buy closed-dated items?
A few days ago, I got Simple Truth lamb burgers. Instead of $12/lb, they were $2.52 for a 1 lb package. They were at the sell-by date, but I just cooked them right away. And I froze most of them.
An interesting thought–could very well be.
Hope you are doing well. Miss all of your posts.
I personally have been shopping more at Publix and less at Aldi because Publix is just 2 miles away and I have to go to that shipping center once a week anyway. They also actually have what I want in stock and their produce seems to be of higher quality. When a product I want has a buy one, get one sale, their prices are often less than other stores. I still go to Aldi once a month for about 60-70% of what I buy, but am no longer surprised when they are out of things.
Maria – I love your comment about being raised by people who lived through the Depression. My grandparents were children/teens then and I grew up with all of those stories on a daily basis. As far as my family was concerned, the Depression happened yesterday and frugality was just a way of life. The older I get, the more I see people who did not hear those stories and for whom frugality is a new concept which comes with a steep learning curve. Another reason to be so glad for spaces like this and all the great sharing of ideas. I bet you have some great family stories to tell!
Hello, frugal friends! We did not do anything unusual to save money, just the usual stuff. We walked for exercise. I used a digital coupon to get 2 cans of sauerkraut plus 2 40-oz bottles of cooking oil for the pantry. W used our military discount to save $2 on some plants at a big box store. Bananas went down .05$ per pound so I bought a bunch for snacking. we were given 3 large acorn squash when we were volunteering at the local rescue mission. Someone had left a big box of beautiful acorn squash beside the dumpster. ne of the other workers found them and shared them with everyone. There was not enough to serve up to the clients at the mission so they shared with the volunteers and workers. After Mr. Fix It and I finished our shift there we went on a date at Cracker Barrel We used a military discount plus ordered off the early bird menu. This has become our monthly date. I subbed 3.5 days this month so that is money in the savings. I picked the last of the cherry tomatoes and some spinach from the garden. I have planted kale 3 times, covered the seedlings when they sprouted and still have so much caterpillar damage I have had to pull it all up every time. So frustrating. Kale winters over here and i was counting on having greens over the winter. I will try one last time now that it is starting to cool down. Last week we were in the 90’s. This week we are in the low 60’s. I was given a bouquet of flowers for my birthday. The baby’s breath is still going strong so I added it to a table decoration. I have been trying to create meals from the pantry and freezers. I think that is about it. I wish everyone a week full of blessings.
I can practically smell that lovely basil.
Like you, I caught AC drip water (a tip I got from you, and there’s been a lot these last few weeks, given the heat), shower warm-up water, and water used to rinse produce, and used it to water plants. I have a large stand of healthy volunteer tomato plants that popped up unexpectedly in one empty (or so I thought) urn. I’m doing my best to make them feel welcome.
I picked a few volunteer strawberries, and some limes. My citrus trees haven’t done well this year, to my dismay.
I wanted to give my friends flowers for their anniversary. Pre-made arrangements were very expensive. At one grocery store, the same flowers in their pre-made arrangements ($30+) were available in a bunch for $8. I bought the $8 bunch, found a vase from my collection from over the years, arranged the flowers, and tied the vase with some pretty fall-colored ribbon I already had. I was pleased with it and my friends seemed to appreciate it. My mother told me later she thought I’d gotten it from a florist.
My mother and I consolidated a number of errands, saving us both time and money. She filled my gas tank as a thank-you for driving. We went to Costco, which is the least-expensive gas in our area.
I received my flu shot and covid booster, both free of charge.
Boneless/skinless chicken breasts were $1.97/lb (usually $4.00 or more) so I stocked up.
I look forward each week to learning and drawing inspiration from this community.
The ribbon addition to the bouquet is such a great idea! I have a bunch of ribbon that would be useful for giving away bouqets and I never thought to use it that way.
I love bougainvillea!! I think it might get too cold for it here though.
I’ve grown okra this year too. Do you have any favorite ways to use it?
I found 2 quarters, picked a little priduce from the garden, made cookies and my daughter bought her first car (cash).
more details here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/09/21/frugal-four-quarters-cookies-car/
I am using okra to make bhindi masala.
I love using okra in soups.
I had my first pickled okra this year and it was delicious.
Growing up in Louisiana I made stewed okra. Fry up a strip of bacon, use the fat to sauté chopped onions and peppers along with okra slices. Add chopped tomatoes and cook until softened. I can’t grow okra here in CO, but will occasionally buy a bag of frozen.
that sounds delicious. My mother used to roll slices of okra in cornmeal batter and fry them I always loved that!
As others mentioned, we ate it in soup (Gumbo mixed vegetables in the frozen food section often include okra), my grandparents ate it boiled and we loved it fried as children. My son grows okra now and swears by roasting it sliced but leaving the top intact until just crispy. And I do see it pickled in various places. But what I remember from my childhood and liked, was a mixture of stewed tomatoes with sliced okra cooked together. I loved it then and would eat it now!
I cut okra and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and air fry , oven roast, or grill until crunchy. You can also use seasonings like cajun, dry Ranch, parmesean, or Everything Bagel.
It hadn’t been the most frugal month. My husband had an accident on August 30. We’ve been to the ER 2x and urgent care 2x and finally to see his regular doctor multiple times. We had to quickly get medical supplies, and set up some safety features at our house. We were fortunate to have friends lend us wheelchairs. We had to purchase crutches, cane and a shower chair. We did find that a local store was less expensive for safety equipment, over Lowe’s. By quite a bit. Unfortunately we were going on vacation and it was a mixed bag of losing reservation fees and nights stay. A few places worked with us to reschedule.
On the upside, we’ve not been anywhere, so no shopping except for groceries and medications, little gas, and we’ve eaten all but one meal at home. The meal was after a Medical appointment. And that we stretched over a couple of days.
We are blessed to have good coverage and as bad as his injury was, he could have hit his head and most likely would have had more serious long term issues.
As it is, he still has several weeks if not months of recovery. He will start wound care and PT soon.
We will continue to stay home, eat at home and lay low.
So sorry about the accident and loss of a vacation! Wishing your husband a complete recovery!
Prayers for your husband’s speedy recovery!
Thinking of you and hope each day is brighter for your husband and you.
We don’t usually make it this far through September without needing to switch on house heating, so very thankful for the continued warm weather – it means more outdoor drying days too. Harvested potatoes and beans from the garden, and am still cutting sweet peas to enjoy in the house. Found some good quality tomatoes in the clearance section, end of date, so roasted them with peppers, onions and garlic to make soup which we all enjoyed. Did a full inventory of the chest freezer to avoid waste and buying duplicate items. Ate more from the freezer to make space for Christmas items. This meant I did not go shopping last week, just the local bakery for bread. A friend donated milk she would not be able to use. A number of birthdays this month. I gave homemade cards and sewed a gift bag from some fabric left over from grandchild’s craft project. I spent a happy afternoon rereading Brandy’s older recipes and ’40 cents’ posts. Feeling inspired to try some new meals. Our utility provider offers incentives to participate in regular energy saving sessions. We sign up for these and plan laundry and cooking to avoid these hours. As well as the saving from the provider it serves as a useful reminder to switch things off that we might otherwise overlook.
There is so much useful information being shared in this post and comments. The notion of canned goods going up in price is one. I do not buy much canned food, however, with pumpkin pie season approaching, I have stocked up on Evaporated milk.
A truckers strike will hurt but who can blame them with the price of diesel?
I was almost dismayed to see the abundant tomato crop in my garden. I just buckled down and canned. For some reason some of the tomatoes were split or had black spots so they had to be trimmed before I cooked them. I give away as much as people will take but a mountain of zucchini has appeared with this extended warm fall. Yellow beans are developing from a late planting. Six varieties of apples have had a good crop this year. What a pleasure to behold and to share and to preserve in various ways. A quick and easy way to use small apples is to simply remove stem and blossom end, quarter and remove seeds. Leaving the skin on, slice and dump into a saucepan. For about 6 cups of apples, add a cup of water and bring to a boil. Separately mix a half cup of sugar, a tablespoon of corn starch and cinnamon to taste. Add to boiling apples until thickened. A bit of butter or oil could be added if desired. Tastes just like the famous ‘fried apples’ from Cracker Barrel. Meat is so costly and country of origin is iffy too these days. I purchased some excellent pork loins at $2. a pound. What a value; I cut lovely chops for several meals and then ground the rest for a breakfast sausage, albeit a very lean sausage. I think the takeaway that I’m getting from reading everyone’s comments is…waste nothing. I think that these days will help educate people about the real cost of things we’ve taken for granted because they were cheap; like fuel. Cheap fuel is at the expense of the environment; ration it. Thanks for keeping the forum alive, Brandy!
I fully support their strike. Working at a loss isn’t going to help anyone. And if they can get diesel prices to go down, it helps everyone, so supporting the truckers will benefit all of us financially.
Whether it happens or not is yet to be seen.
I got 9 packs of Nespresso pods from my Buy Nothing Group. I offered to split them but the person giving them didn’t want to deal with several people.
I cooked my first pumpkin for the year. I dried the seeds for next year.
I called about a $50 gift card I was supposed to receive. They resent it to my email. I got it 2 days later.
Went to a few garage sales. The only things I bought were 2 brand new dog costumes for $1 each. I gave one to my daughter.
My neighbor offered me a 5 pound bag of potatoes that her BIL gave her. I was happy to take it. I gave her some cherry tomatoes from my garden.
Hubby went apple picking with his dad upstate like they do every year. Apples are up to $1. 50 a pound. Hubby got us 40 pounds. He also stopped and got me Seckel pears which we can’t find near home and they are my favorite. I need to make apple sauce.
Hubby ate free breakfasts at work twice last week and lunch once.
A friend picked up the wine juice for us this year. Hubby usually goes but he was with his dad. Wine making is under way.
I did a library diamond craft. It was a 6 pack of cards. I only did one in class. I have done 3 more at home so far. I did a Canva class which is a color changing mug. It will be a Christmas gift for Hubby. I borrowed books and magazines.
CVS has had 75-90% off their summer clearance. I got Pringles for 87¢ each, Pokeman Hershey kisses bags & 8 pack single serve bars for 48¢, Hershey full size bars for 13¢each, large bottles of iced tea for 51¢ each and huge pool floats for $6. My daughter is in contract for a house that has a pool. The candy will be for Halloween and Christmas.
I got a check for $22 for surveys. I am waiting for another one for $25 from selling some books. I sold an item on FBMP for $20. I got a $10 GC from Verizon. I have enough points for a $25 from Fetch. I just have to decide what I want. I watched a lady for a few hours and they fed me. It won’t be a regular thing but I will help her when I can. All of these little things add up.
The garden is still going strong. I am worried about the weather this weekend. It might be the end of my season. Tomorrow I will be picking as much as I can.
The weather has been beautiful so no A/C or heat. Windows have been open and everything has been hung up outside.
I am extremely late to the game this week! Brandy, your beans and basil are beautiful! You have a great eye for photography – and of course, a green thumb. 🙂
We are finally below 100 degrees here (north central Texas) – although still above normal in the upper 90s. This has been one of the warmest and driest Septembers on record for our area. We are ready for fall, at least so we can get a break on the electric bill! I think we are finally supposed to dip below 90 for a few days late next week, but still not “windows” weather.
We continued doing all of the usual frugal things as expenses and prices continue to rise everywhere. We make and eat almost all meals at home. We cooked a small carver ham out of our freezer stock and made meals from it for almost a week – ham sandwiches on homemade bread, ham & potato casserole, ham & cheese omelettes. I made ham and cheddar scones on Saturday morning that came out delicious – my husband said they were the best scones he’s ever had. I used grocery reward points to buy a large bag of frozen meatballs for .99 cents, and used a free reward for a container of sour cream, so we made Swedish meatballs with egg noodles for dinner 2 nights in a row. This weekend we do our annual at-home Oktoberfest and will cook a few different meal combinations of schnitzel, bratwurst, spaetzle, sauerkraut, apple strudel, and soft pretzels. I will probably make a loaf of homemade bread this evening as well – I have been baking all of our bread and buns rather than purchasing. A few months back I was given a large quantity of flour (including some high gluten flour) so I’m enjoying finding ways to use it up. We bought blueberries, strawberries, eggs, butter, canned vegetables, and chicken thighs on loss leader sales at our primary grocery store. We continue to bring our own lunches, snacks, and beverages to work. We each have a mini fridge and coffeemakers/espresso machines in our offices, which really helps. We also make our own coffee & espresso drinks at home, rather than purchasing out.
Other random frugal tidbits – I received a code for a free hair product from Ulta. My birthday was in September and I received (and used!) several discounts and coupons around that. A Mexican restaurant we like sent me a free entree coupon, so I used that for lunch with a coworker. I received a $25 gift card from Madewell and used it to order a sweater and some socks (both on clearance) and ended up only paying around $3 after tax. I picked up free birthday gifts from Ulta, Sephora, and Blue Mercury. My vehicle is currently in the shop and awaiting a part that’s on backorder (in Europe…) so I am driving a loaner vehicle until the part arrives. I am grateful that our dealership has such amazing customer service. We put up our fall decor even though it may not feel exactly like fall here yet. I find that changing out the decor and simple things like autumnal candle scents seem to put me in a better mood. I’ve changed over to using cozy fall scented essential oils in my home cleaning products – during the summer I prefer to use peppermint, lemongrass, citrus scents – now I am using a variety of cinnamon, cedarwood, and the “Thieves” type fragrances. We went to a neighborhood garage sale and I found several more office clothing items, and a new Emile Henry French stoneware salt pig (countertop salt storage) for $3. My husband also found a DVD copy of “Riverdance” for $1. I laughed at first, but then once we got home and put it on, I remembered how much I enjoyed watching it. (I danced competitively for several years, so it was a fun bit of nostalgia. I will definitely be rewatching it!)
Recently I have been watching a lot of “slow living” style videos focusing on homekeeping, decorating, and cooking on YouTube. I find them very enjoyable and relaxing, without the focus on excessive consumerism that is prevalent on social media. I have already gotten quite a few nice recipe ideas as well and I enjoy seeing the lovely European countrysides and scenery.
I hope everyone has a lovely week!
So encouraging to read the posts and appreciate all you do Brandy to make this possible.
We are adjusting and I try not to use verbage about my continued amazement with rising costs. I am altering my mind set to “how can I shift and what am I going to change”.
This week…
*I am being very selective about what I do socially and free verses money spent. I enjoyed walking to a book club (checked book out of the library) in our neighborhood and the lively discussion we had. I passed on going out to lunch at a restaurant with an open end invitation with a large group of neighbors. DH and I and another couple are going to go look at changing “Fall Leaves”. We are bringing picnic lunches and driving together.
*Have been calculating and checking receipts as we leave stores. At local grocery store I found a $4.50 mistake-went to customer service and the computer did not program the loss leaders into the system. It’s a 5 minute pause that paid off. This is happening to me more and more.
*We stripped copper from wiring we were storing in our garage that was never used and has been there for years. We took it to scrap dealer and got $92.
*I have some “real looking” full size pumpkins. Placed them near our front door and not purchasing any Fall decorations.
*Went to a house clean our sale-nothing priced and you make offers. We bought a tool that my husband has been wanting but too expensive in retail stores; seller threw in large bottle of soft soap sealed and 2 yards of new packaged fabric that was in perfect condition.
Hope this upcoming week is encouraging and filled with good opportunities for everyone.
I think we all have to adapt now. Rising prices are affecting everyone.
Again, NOT going into the grocery store has been my largest money saving method for weeks now. I’m not saying I don’t go in at all, but I have a new rule that I must have at least 10 items on my list before I’ll even consider going in and often, I find I’m putting off that visit ‘a little longer’. Due to this I undercut my previous months of spending by nearly $100 which made me very happy. I didn’t notice the extra money because grandchildren had book fairs at school, but I had money to give them because I had been prudent with my grocery fund! A friend and I went out for a day of talking and shopping. We generally stick to thrift and the junkier ‘antique’ stores to do our nosing about each month, but this past week we went into Hobby Lobby which fairly curbed spending on my part as I needed very little (a pillow form, sewing machine needles, and the first Christmas gift I’ve purchased for this year). We went into BJs wholesale after we’d had our lunch and I picked up cheese, some turkey sausage, and a package of butter lettuce. I also stopped to admire their flowers and discovered I could get a very nice bunch for just $11 which is about $8 less than I’ve been paying. Like another here, I do a lot more shopping at Publix lately, especially when they have buy one get one sales. True their initial per pound or unit price might be more than another store, but unlike some stores the items are NOT marked up higher for the ‘sale’, a common enough practice at Kroger at one time. It truly is cheaper to do the buy one get one free sales on MOST items at Publix. Not all, but it pays to know your prices.
I had two apples that developed bad spots and I made them into a dozen lovely apple muffins with a caramel glaze on top. I took half a dozen to my friend’s home when I picked her up to go shopping. I love to bake but as a widow there’s no need of my doing too much of it, but sharing I find is a great excuse to enjoy my baking and the product I baked too! I skipped church this Sunday, and will watch the service online. I had already been to the area where my church is three times in the past week and I just couldn’t see using the gas to go a fourth time (it’s 40 miles one way).
I’ve been very careful to see that I use up leftovers and to plan meals in such a way that if I open a larger package of meat, I can use it all, either for the present week or to make something to freeze or can for later use.
If you’re interested in the whys and such of what prices will rise etc. Becoming A Farmgirl on YouTube shares a load of information, reading ag reports, industry reports etc. She talks fast and imparts a lot of information in her vlogs but I do find her worth listening to. Coffee and chocolate prices will be going down, by the way…But there’s plenty of others that will be going up.
The cooler weather has allowed me to take advantage of open windows until nearly noon everyday (2pm today!). That is a huge help with the electric bill. I also received my annual membership distribution refund so will ‘save’ another $67 on the last bill. I am very grateful for that. BTW, those talking of using electricity in ‘off’ hours need to be sure and check what ‘off’ hours actually are. I’d thought evenings and early mornings but my website said ‘off hours’ for my area were actually between 9 and 4 pm! Apparently for home users there are fewer people home during the daytime!