I harvested Armenian cucumbers, a Metki cucumber, red noodle beans, basil, a small eggplant, and garlic chives from the garden.
I found a new YouTube channel for learning Urdu that I started following. I don’t really have time to watch videos, but I have found that I can listen early in the morning while watering the garden and in the afternoon while taking care of the household tasks. I have found that having multiple resources is very helpful in learning a language. I used this same technique when I was refreshing my French 9 years ago and it really helped me.
I took out a tomato plant that died unexpectedly, and sowed seeds for red noodle beans in its place. These were seeds I had collected from my own garden. They came up in just a few days.
I tried sowing seeds again for roselle hibisicus from seeds I had collected previously. All of my previous sowings have died, and it’s very late in the year, but perhaps I can get a small harvest.
I cut some roses and zinnias from the garden to enjoy inside.
I ordered a scarf from Amazon on sale for a gift for someone for later this year. It’s the same scarf as I am wearing in this photo, but in another color.
The price was so low I used my Amazon credit to order a different color for myself as well. Thank you so much for those of you who make purchases from Amazon through my links. I truly appreciate it. (I noted on my Instagram post that this scarf is silk; the tag says 100% silk. The listing on Amazon says polyester. I will be going by the tag for ironing and cleaning.)
I took this photo of myself using my phone and my phone tripod with a 10-second timer. I know mothers are usually behind the camera and not in front of the camera. We need to remember to be in photos, too. My tripod has made that possible this past year, and I have been really happy to use it (and am embracing using my phone for photos).
I am still using my camera, too, though! My father built this amazing airplane over many months, and we went out to take pictures of my youngest in it early one morning at dawn.
What did you do to save money these past two weeks?
I love the picture of the plane with your son and father.
This week I made coleslaw, sauerkraut, nut roast and fairy cakes I also picked beetroot and grated cheese which had been in the freezer as I could not slice it. I picked a handful of peas, broad beans, potatoes, lettuce , raspberries and wild blackberries I have also resown beetroot and carrots these have germinated. The potatoes are a disaster as the mice have been eating them. Tomorrow I will have to go through them and see what I can salvage. I will put mash potatoes in the freezer.I have strimmed the nettles so I can cut the hedge,
I have managed to dry the washing outside and washed the mats etc. The apple trees have been thinning as we had to many on the trees. A good year for apples but not for plums I had just the one which the bird ate
I have had to buy a new electric kettle as the old one stopped working. We used the camping kettle and a kettle I can use on the gas hob while we priced up a new one. We can’t mend it as the element is not visible , my original kettle lasted 24 years but it did have a visible element which hubby changed a few times, built in obsolescence
We have a builder in putting in a new back step and replacing the front wall which was knocked down by a van. Not fugal but we can’t do these things anymore. Also a man coming to clean the lounge and dining room carpet . I do resent having to pay to do what I could have done 5 years ago.
I have read books from borrow box, cleaned the outside of the kitchen cupboards. My saucepan lids have silicone handles which have become sticky, has anybody found a way to clean them .
The new vacuum cleaner is working well.
The phone company are converting to digital, we would like to keep our landline as neither of us have mobile phones, also we would need our phone to work in a power cut for hubbys medical needs so we have to look into our options. Daughter has been quoted £65 a month to keep her landline!!!
A friend of my daughters was sitting in the garden with family with an ethanol heater on the table and her 5 year old grandson on her lap, when the heater exploded. She pushed he grandson onto the ground and took the whole flame ran to the kitchen shouting I am on fire. None of this she remembers! She has 3rd degree burns to one side of her body. She is home now and her daughter has returned from abroad. When they got to the hospital there were 2 other patients to whom the same thing had happened separately on the same day. So if you have an ethanol heater be very careful. The fire brigade are warning again using them.
Stay safe everyone
Chris
I find a paste of baking soda and Citra-Solv cleans crud off almost anything. I don’t know if Citra-Solv is available there, though.
Good luck!
I am so sorry about the woman who got burned. Burns are not fun! I burned an arm decades ago but just one small area qualified as third degree. It is very painful and slow to heal. Prayers to her and her family and grandson who all witnessed it.
Debbie
Can you buy TSP (trisodium phosphate) in the UK? It works great on grease or nicotine stained walls.Make sure you use gloves when using it though because it’s hard on the hands.
It is increasingly hard to NOT share my secret (burner phone for traveling emergencies only) cell number, and I don’t like it! Our primary phone is our land line, in the U.S. Our credit card rewards program, the how-to-set-up a login.gov account instructions, and our retirement accounts all want to “text” us codes to allow us access.
I am all for two-factor identification if it is more secure, (that is, having to log in to an account by having a second code of some sort). But since these entities have never had our cell numbers, how can they know that they are texting me a code to log in, as the landline phone number they have for us is different?
I am going to set aside am hour to call some customer support lines and see what I can do. PayPal requires a cell phone number, and I suppose other money-transferring services, which I don’t use, also require a cell. Thank you for enduring my rant.
Some will allow you to send the code to an email… you might check to see if they will
We accepted some free cooking apples and cooked them to enjoy with porridge.
I bumped everyone up a size of thermal underwear and will buy new ones for my biggest child in anticipation of autumn. I am glad to be able to reuse clothes.
My son tore a hole in his favourite trousers. I patched them with some strawberry print fabric. He is very pleased!
I rejigged my gardening plans to include two dwarf pears trees in amongst our big bulb bed. There is already a dwarf plum tree there. I am pleased to squeeze in a little productivity to an otherwise purely aesthetic space. I trimmed down my list of plants to stay within budget.
I have been sick these past few days. I have been resting in bed, eating plain meals with salt and drinking homemade quick lemonade (water, sugar, bottled lemon juice) to replace lost fluids. I am very tired and hope to get better soon.
We were potty training the toddler. This was paused during busy week last week and while I have been sick, but my husband did some time with her today and it went well. I hope to continue to see progress and maybe we won’t have two in daytime nappies when our new baby is born in November! We’ll see…
Suzie,
I hope you feel better soon!
This week on Flashfood (a week after the two day sale for 99 cents a pound), I found 24 pound cartons of strawberries for 25 cents / pound! They were not mushy or moldy and looked exactly the same as the ones on offer in the produce department for full price! Daughter bought 8 from me. I put 4 in a bowl in the fridge to eat fresh and used 12 to process into jam! I got 20 half pints and 2 pints . The cost breakdown was 12-1/2 cents of strawberries per half pint and 25 cents/pint jar! https://pin.it/68EtgCZea and https://pin.it/hGRKHInOX.
On Flashfood this afternoon, I also bought 2 packages of chicken drumsticks (12 drums per package)- total of 9.59 pounds for $4. total! That’s 41 cents/pound and enough for several meals for the 2 of us!
Here’s a client quilt I finished quilting on- https://pin.it/1dGRrBdHE. Then I started another Use it Up scrapbusting quilt to give as a wedding gift next weekend! https://pin.it/5NV4gArlo It will be 64” x 80” so a nice snuggle quilt while watching tv! And it’s only cost is my time!
I made an enchilada casserole bake last night for Sunday dinner to use up some corn tortillas in fridge (that would have torn if I tried to roll them up!) All the other ingredients were from pantry shelves including the home canned chicken chunks! Saw it on Rose Red Homestead on YouTube- https://youtu.be/dKDcjKMD2eQ?si=QErXjGzFeSUEo50e. So simple and fast! Youngest son was over for Sunday dinner and went home with 2 leftover serves and I portioned out 2 more leftover serves for Hubs and me. So it made 8 servings (son had seconds). Glad I put a couple dozen cans of diced green chilis from ALDI on my pantry shelves back in February! They sure come in handy!
I started harvesting Concord grapes from our vine and looks like there will be a nice amount. They smell just divine and we put netting over them so birds and squirrels can’t get them!
So we just keep adding to and using up things we have in our food storage! The opportunities have certainly not been at convenient times, but they have been more than worth it!
Getting groceries has been difficult since the store three doors down from me shut its doors at the end of March. Our local taxi driver developed health problems and stopped driving her taxi. The person who was giving me rides when she could not also developed health problems, and was out of commission for a couple of months. The other grocery store in town belongs to a chain that got hacked, and had serious problems with inventory and ordering for a couple of months. The seniors’ bus can take me locally or to the next town over, but has kept me waiting longer at the store than is comfortable for me. It won’t work in the winter. The farmers’ market closes for the season in a couple of weeks.
Amazon is helpful for pantry items, since they now deliver to my door. I can get fresh eggs brought to my door for less than the store.
I also looked at my budget for the next few months, and I wasn’t going to be able to make ends meet. I decided to register for the food bank. It is 35 miles away, but does doorstep delivery in my community. The monthly delivery included several small packs of meat, two dozen eggs, a small brick of cheese, as well as many meals of pantry items. I will still need to do a grocery shop, but this will help my budget out through the fall. I hope by January my expenses will be more settled and I will be able
to go back to providing for myself.
This week, the driver I use is away, but I was able to book the seniors’ bus for a grocery run to the next town over. I had eggs delivered.
I also took the bus to the library, so that I could fax the paperwork needed for the province’s deferred property tax program for seniors. (The tax is deferred until you move out of your house.) They called me later the same afternoon to let me know it had been processed. Meanwhile the paperwork I faxed for reimbursement of a medical trip is in its sixth week waiting at its government office! While I was at the library, I got a membership (they’re free now), and got several free books at a table outside the library where they put out donated books that are older than they want in the library collection. I was very happy with my selections.
Other than that, I’m just getting organized for winter. It is a busy time of year.
That’s amazing that your food bank delivers! The volunteering I am doing here is outside at an apartment complex, and people line up and stand outside for 2 hours (not sure why they come quite that early as they could come later).
Yes, it is amazing. The food bank system closed down quite a few rural food banks that weren’t meeting standards. This particular food bank ended up serving a huge rural area — not nearly so many households as in a city, and very far apart. It also gets food to the schools under snack and meal programs, so volunteers are already driving to different communities to deliver food to those programs. So many food clients are seniors or disabled that I think it seemed more efficient for food banks to deliver to our doorsteps in small communities rather than run multiple drive-up food bank sessions that we might have trouble getting to and they really couldn’t staff. They also got a huge amount of funding for getting food to vulnerable populations. Most of the clients are around a larger town, though, and do a drive through pick-up once a month.
I guess the people stand in line so long because they are afraid of things running out if they are at the end of the line. Not very pleasant waiting when the weather is so hot, though!
That is great Elizabeth that you are able to make use of the food pantry. It will certainly stretch your food budget and help save some trips to the store. Delivery is the icing on the cake!
It is a big relief. I was really happy with the quality of the food they provided (some favorite brands and foods), and appreciated the kindness of the people I dealt with.
Within the last year, our very rural community got food bank lockers at the local school. From what I understand, the volunteers put all the food in there at a set time and people can come pick it up at their convenience. Not delivery, I know, but I thought that it is a pretty ingenious idea. Glad you are able to access this program!
That is such a smart idea!
Before school, the teachers put anything they don’t want in the gym for everyone to take what they want. I found some small stuffed animals for the dogs, 20 pee pads, and mini cycle machine to use at home.
The insurance finally approved daughter’s well visit I was being charged for, for some reason.
Made $10 on Marketplace
Not cheap at the time, but got the youngest dog spayed.
Earned around $3 from Ibotta
Made sure to scan my receipts on various apps to get points.
We had pizza and donuts provided at work two different days. We also had bouquets of flowers that I passed on because they just make me sneeze.
Read and returned library books. Finished another Audible.
That is such an adorable photo of your son! (I love the photo of you also. It could be a book cover.)
It’s getting to be peak harvest time here and I’m trying to preserve as much of what I grow and what I can purchase at a reasonable price from local farmers. I made pickles, canned a few green beans from my garden, and froze and canned corn. I was able to purchase 24 big ears of sweet corn for $12. The corn is donated by local farmers, harvested the same day it is sold, and all the money goes to the local food pantry, so it’s a winning deal all around. I ended up with 6 quart freezer bags full of corn kernels, and 7 half-pint jars of corn. I like to take the jars camping. I have frozen bags of jalepeno, Mexi-bell, and bell peppers. Every years something different in the garden seems to flourish and this year it’s peppers. I harvested all my carrots. We ate some and I canned a few, but a vole got into the greenhouse and ate about half of them, along with some chard plants. My husband set traps, caught a few voles, and the problem seems to have stopped. I purchased pork loin B1/G1 and canned 5 pints of pork chunks. These are so delicious and versatile for quick meals. I also dried oregano, thyme, parsley, sage, and lemon balm from the garden.
Hi Cindi! I agree with your comment on gardens. Every year something different flourishes. This year its peppers for me as well. I usually freeze any bell pepper and pickle the spicy ones. Unfortunately, I won’t be freezing them because we will be moving and want the freezers as empty as possible. Looks like lots of stuffed peppers for us! If anyone has any other ideas for using them, please let me know. Same with corn; I have canned corn in the past, but nothing is almost as fresh as the corn in the freezer that I do from day-picked corn. Oh well, next year! Happy Gardening!
Laura, I dehydrate sweet peppers and use them in everything. If they are real sweet, you can grind them into a powder and use them as paprika. If you don’t have a dehydrator, chop them very small, spread apart for air circulation and place them in a lightly woven wicker basket covered in a paper towel Sit it in a very hot spot outside, like a porch. You can also hang them up whole to dry. You usually see it done with hot peppers but sweet peppers will dry just as well. I have also roasted sweet peppers and canned them in olive oil.
Three years ago I had a big pepper harvest and we are still eating the ones I dehydrated along with the jalapenos I pickled. It has allowed me to grow fewer pepper plants in the garden.
Enjoy the big harvest!
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Thank you, Jeannie, for the suggestions! You have saved the peppers! 🙂 By the way, I love reading your comments. 🙂
I use peppers in pasta sauce, on pizza, subs, stirfries and in potatoes O’Brein. You can process them in a canner also.
Great photos. You look beautiful in your red dress. And I love the airplane scene.
A happy frugal win was that I found $20 cash on the street. The only other person around was a FedEx delivery driver, and he said it wasn’t his, so I kept it. A few weeks ago I also found 85 cents in change in a parking lot. I always say a small prayer of gratitude when I find money on the ground.
Free things:
– Picked wild blackberries
– Skyped with a friend in France (my French is a little rusty so I looked up a bunch of vocab words online beforehand that I knew I would use in our conversation)
– Picked up one pound of free peaches at the Coop. I had a coupon for $5 off a $25 produce purchase that I was not going to use, so I passed it on to another shopper
– Went to a city event with various activities. Visited a booth where you could learn about spice mixes from India, and was given a free sample
– Received a $200 credit from my electricity company because my income is low this year
– Washed all my windows, inside and out
– Replaced the velcro on a strap for a friend of mine, which meant she did not have to purchase a new item for $40
Other frugals:
– Found 12 ounce ham steaks at Fred Meyer for $1.80, so I bought three packages. Another shopper noticed I was looking at the discount meats so she pointed this out to me
– Bought strawberries on sale, washed them in vinegar water and stored them in glass – they last a long time this way
– Scrubbed my patio with stiff long handled brush and biodegradable soap. I had to buy a brush but I got one with a screw in handle that can be used for other brooms/brushes/etc.
– Repaired blinds using plastic repair parts I already had and shipping tape
– Hemmed a dress for someone on Nextdoor for $30
Looking forward to reading about everyone else’s accomplishments.
Tell me more about the hemming job on Nextdoor. I can do hemming. Did someone ask or did you advertise?
I did not advertise, but you can. Occasionally, people post on Nextdoor asking where they can get clothing alterations, so I respond that I do hemming and simple clothing alterations. I have hemmed pants and dresses, and once time I patched someone’s jeans. I charge $25 to $30 per item. Alterations are expensive here, so that rate is fair to me and most people (but not all) think it’s reasonable.
Thank you!
When I was a Girl Scout Leader, one of my girl’s grandmother would sew on patches for $2 a piece. Word got around to other troops and she made some good side money. This was 15 years ago so you could probably charge more now.
Brandy, I love the picture of you! I was away on a holiday with free accommodation and I spent time happily shopping at thrift stores and bought some new to me tops.
My husband decided to do some touch up painting one day and was amazed that the 1/2 gallon of 14 year old paint was still good. It was in a plastic rather than metal container which made all the difference. Saved him the cost and hassle of matching new paint.
My friends came for a visit and gifted us a $100 grocery gift card which was totally unnecessary
! I guess they figure we rarely get up their way and this is their 3rd visit to us this year. Another lady asked if she could stay at my house one day while we were gone-she left a bottle of wine and some chocolate so that was very much appreciated.
Tomorrow we are picking up my Mum and going to a friends-we are having a meat pie making morning so our freezers will be ready for easy fall meals. I am just on my way to pick up a flash food produce box for $5-can’t totally see what is in it but they are usually a good 10 lbs or more and the store is not too far away. As well hubby just picked a large bin of apples from our tree. I was amazed to see gas for 132.9 per litre this morning-I paid as much as 177.9 while I was away.
Hi I,
On the last blog, someone asked you if you could share the recipe for the meat pies. You may not have seen the request.
That was me!😊
Hi Brandy and everyone
The photo of your son looking at his grandfather is lovely. It’s so nice to read your posts again and catch up with you and everyone else. I hope life is settling again for you.
Catching up with my modest achievements, the garden is providing a good range of veg but not big quantities this year. We’re eating our own tomatoes, runner beans, celery,garlic, spring onions, potatoes, cucumbers, sweetcorn, courgettes and carrots.
This is reducing the grocery bill and I have frozen packs of runner beans. I used up some apples we were given in apple and cranberry muffins.
My husband volunteered at an event and brought home several packets of shortbread and a free reusable water bottle.
I mended my watch strap, it won’t last forever but it’s fine for now.
I used vouchers for two free bakery items in Lidl.
Our car mechanic did a small amount of work on my car and asked for some vegetables from our garden in payment which was a nice barter.
I bought two dresses and a pair of trousers for the autumn in a sale.
I have started buying gifts for Christmas and found lovely Emma Bridgewater mugs half price at TKMaxx. They’re not cheap even half price but my daughter’s like them and will be very pleased with them.
I was able to help two tourists who were lost and getting soaked in the rain. They kindly gave me a lovely scented candle as a thank you.
Looking forward to catching up with everyone’s comments.
That picture of your dad and son is precious. I love the scarf. We have planted fall green beans and they are coming up. We have been watering them and our pepper plants and we are getting lots of pepper. I have signed up to take a pickle making class at the extension office. Hopefully I can make some pickles next year from our garden. our family came for a fish fry last night and everyone was visiting and did not want to go home. It was late when everyone left, so we watered the garden this morning. My husband’s middle daughter is getting married in October and wants to use our ferns from our porch and our front yard to get married. We are doing several outdoor things to get the yard ready. I have been going to the library and have made some new friends.
I have found batch cooking to be a wonderful tool for saving me from getting takeout, saving time, avoiding food waste and saving me some stress. To that end I spent all of yesterday occupied in the kitchen. I scoured my freezer and pantry for all that I needed. I roasted chicken breasts for salads during the week, made an enormous batch of meatballs using ground turkey that I purchased in bulk when it was on sale BOGO. I baked a batch of blueberry muffins adding protein powder and substituting plain Greek yogurt to up the protein. I made egg muffins to last the week using up ground turkey that I seasoned into sausage and bacon from the freezer & added cottage cheese to the mix again for extra protein. I drafted out a meal plan to minimize the cooking that I will have to do during the week. I also cooked up two pounds of pinto beans and made bean and cheese burritos for the freezer.
With Labor Day weekend coming up I wanted to take my son for a quick break without spending a ton of money. We chose to go camping. We have all the equipment that we need and will drive into the mountains only 3 hours away. I paid $45 per night and there is a pool, water/electricity at the site along with a fire ring & picnic table. I am almost as excited as he is for our little adventure. All of our food will be packed from home and cooked on site. There is nothing better than eating, cooking and sleeping outdoors. I just love it.
I used a $5 discount when I purchased my dog food at Tractor Supply.
My neighbor gave us 4 dozen eggs from his hens.
I shopped grocery sales and took advantage of frozen Salmon for $5.99/package, pork shoulder for $1.99/lb, over ripe bananas for $0.30/lb to use for muffins, and BOGO Peanut Butter.
Basic things but every little bit helps!
Your flowers are beautiful.
My accomplishments for the last two weeks. The biggest, while not a frugal accomplishment, is an accomplishment. My DH and I celebrated our 49th wedding anniversary. Hard to believe it has been that long.
The garden is really starting to produce. We picked cucumbers, zucchini, a few carrots, tomatoes – regular and cherry, beets, green beans, chard, broccoli, cauliflower and herbs (basil, thyme and rosemary). I did my least favorite garden chore – thinning the carrots. I was able to use some of them, and the ones that were to small, we tossed over the fence for our neighbor’s horses.
I made taco meat and homemade refried beans then bean, beef and cheese tostadas. The refried beans were made from our home-grown pinto beans, anaheim peppers, onions and garlic from the garden. I also made gnocchi soup with sausage and also chard from the garden, cheese and bacon scones, BLTs, corn on the cob, cooked some beets for the DH, popcorn for snacks a couple of times, chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, chicken and veggie stir fry and a chicken bruschetta bake. My DH and I made a batch of his grandmother’s “meatball special.” It is a stew made with zucchini, potatoes, onions, garlic, green beans, chard cooked in a tomato based sauce with Italian herbs. This is one of the “recipes” I got from his mother before her dementia hit really hard. It is basically, throw whatever you have from the garden in a pot with some little meatballs and tomato sauce and paste.
For preserving I dried basil a few times, zucchini, thyme and rosemary. I also made homemade mixed vegetables with broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, corn, green beans and peas. This takes awhile, as I blanch each vegetable separately and then mix them together. I did this twice and ended up with 10 4-cup bags of mixed vegetables.
I ordered and received my quarterly OTC products from my Medicare Advantage plan.
Took the sheets and mattress pad off the bed and washed and line-dried them. Also, when I did laundry, almost 80% was dried on the clotheslines.
I purchased two 9×13 pyrex pans at the thrift store for $3.50 each. These are great when I want to give someone a meal, as if they don’t return the pan, I’m not out a lot. Sometimes I jsut say keep the pan, and pass a meal on to someone.
I went down to my son and DIL’s house to stay with them for three days and help with cooking, cleaning and taking care of the children. My older GD (20 months old) helped me peel the corn on the cob. She loved it when we cooked it and ate almost an entire half of an ear of corn. I will be going down to visit my son, DIL and GDs again Thursday and coming home Saturday. Hope to get lots done between now and then.\
Hope everyone has a good week.
Nancy, that’s a great price on the thrifted pyrex dishes. Our thrift stores (Seattle area) have pyrex items priced so high, that sometimes it is cheaper to buy them new on sale. Crazy.
I’ve noticed that too – especially if it’s a vintage or discontinued colour of pattern. I bought the largest bowl (from a set of 3) years ago in a lovely turquoise – it cost me $12. I saw it selling for $60 on Etsy a couple of years back. I’d love to find the other sizes to complete the set.
Re: thrift store pyrex – The vintage and discontinued items are priced rather high, but I would expect that. What I think is odd is that glass storage bowls and containers (without the plastic lids) and things like standard pie plates are so expensive. A few years back, I was looking for a plain pyrex pie plate, and they were between $3.99 and $5.99 at the thrift store. I bought a new one on sale for $3.
-Not frugal for me but a local lady was on FB looking to buy pears to make pear preserves. I have two pear trees and hate pears so I invited her to come to my house and get all she wanted for free. I didn’t go out because I was already in my pajamas that evening and her son was with her but she texted and said she got a 5 gallon bucket full to use. Hope it works out for her because I wasn’t going to do anything with them. Didn’t really know her but my dad had been friends with her brother in law. Not really sure what would have happened to pears if she hasn’t picked. My nephew does my yard work and I ask no questions.
-Still getting BOGO free Honey Baked Ham Club sandwiches once every week or so. One does me for three meals plus I give other to my sister and it does her for 2-3 meals.
-Called State of MS agriculture and told them we no longer grow cotton so not to waste their time and money sending us certified mail related to boll weevil eradication. Saved me a little time from filling out surveys and them postage and fees for future years.
-have a sister date planned for Wednesday. She works until 1 this time of year so we will go at soon as she is off. Town is 17 miles away and we will be able to take only one car and have a BOGO 50% off lunch with Chilis rewards, go to senior discount day at Roses for toys fro grands, go to one of last farmers markets of season and I’m sure swing by library. May buy groceries while in town. Or may wait until closer to holiday weekend.
-I love Diet Coke and friend called to tell me that instead of getting on sale at grocery for $5 they were available at DollGen for $3.33.
TCR== I love regular Coke and always look for sales around holiday times, (patriotic days, family get-together holidays, religious holidays), at both grocery store and dollar store. Labor Day has snuck up on us once again….
I wait for holidays for buying my coke and sprite. I then figure out how many days to the next holiday and divide my pop so I make it last LOL
I am 80 days into my retirement. I am filled with gratitude for the new found freedom. I can move at a slower place; spend time making trivial decisions, explore the same passions I have had for year but had to shove into weekends only. I can now focus on the “spending time” rather “spending money” part of the famous equation.
1. My son went back to college and it was time to get rid of the “teen smell” in his room I have been ignoring. I have always cleaned the bedding but his room needed an overall – especially since I am having a guest in there in a few weeks. I am committed to sustainable / thrifted pieces in everything but bedding and underwear ( maybe irrational fear of bed bugs. I don’t know.) I comparison shopped and decided on a great 100% cotton knit topper with percale sheets. I will pull these out for guests. I am doing an extra clean of his comforter before he gets home.
2. I unfortunately did not have a mattress protector on his bed. I used a mixture of oxiclean for sweat stains on the pillow top ( keeping it real) and a chemical deodorizer I mixed in a spray bottle. I’ll let it dry for several days.
3. I ask a friend to take me to Costco since I am not a member. My intent was to buy the highly Consumer Report rated Kirkland sheets. They did not have the right size. She did treat me to 1.50 hot dog/ soda combo.
4. I borrowed the same friend’s 4 string serger which she is not in the time of life to use. I am going to learn how to use it and start some crafts I have in mind.
5. I kept a promise to myself to glean the abundant random food we have randomly hanging around the farm. I pick figs and dehydrated. I dehydrated leftover Kale, then used my Vitamix to make it a powder for smoothies. I have been eating toast most days from gifted homemade bread.
What do you do with the dehydrated figs? Do you slice them or do them whole? My fig trees are loaded this year and we can’t eat them all fresh so we having been giving lots away. I have made jam with them but I would love another way to use them.
I slice them in thirds to dry them and then use them to make the fig sauce recipe that is on my site.
I have been eating the dehyrdated figs in either my homemade yogrut with some nuts or with my oatmeal. Quite yummy.
I was reading an info chart and apparently dried figs are high in calcium? So to eat them in any way would be helpful to those who are calcium deficient but don’t care for or can’t have dairy.
Good to know as I grow figs!
What a wonderful Dad, and fabulous photo of he and your son! We were blessed with cooler temperatures last week. One morning, when I saw the forecast had lowered to a high of 75, I changed the days to do list, and ended up canning garbanzo beans and homegrown crowder peas. We were out of crowder peas entirely, and pints of garbanzo beans, and I was waiting for a cool spell to can some up, so that worked out wonderfully. It’s been lovely having the windows open so much. I found a misshapen watermelon in the pond garden, the only one that’s made it this far, without rotting or being chewed on. I cut it on Sunday, and found it was a yellow one. Not the best tasting, but edible. The chickens enjoyed the rind and scraps. Using my sister’s link, I’m giving Fetch a try, and have scanned a number of receipts already. On another cool day, I gave the pups baths in the outdoor shower, and cleaned the chicken coop. Mint was pulled, to add to the nest boxes and floor. Saturday was a workday at a pottery, and I brought some paperwork to work on, as well as reading material. I’m watering the house plants, mostly orchids, and looking after the chickens while I’m there, in addition to shop sitting. She told me to take any eggs I gathered, and as we’re averaging one a day, I took her up on that.
I am a couple months behind on posts, but was so glad to see one for this week! Your photos just bring so much joy to see here and on IG!
A neighbor who has an orchard in Southern Virginia ( we are in piedmont NC) has been bringing us 5 gallon buckets of apples, pears and peaches over the last 5-6 weeks. I have been making applesauce, pear sauce, freezing peaches, drying all of them and making fruit leather with the apples and pears. I have been cutting them up into chunks with skins on , cooking lightly in the crockpot and then pureeing them in the blender. It is so much faster than peeling, you get the benefit of the fiber and you can’t tell with the finished product. We have had new babies at church and some sicknesses so applesauce is always a hit. A friend of my daughters with five kids had a long illness with the whole family, but they live some distance. A neighbor teaches at the same school as the husband of the friend so they took a 5 gallon bucket of apples and pears, some applesauce and a fresh batch of elderberry syrup I made for them. So the generosity just gets spread around!
We had roof leaks with the tropical storm a few weeks ago and thought we might need a new roof ( ours is a 23 year old roof, with a 40 year life). The guy who looked at it said it was good for another 5 years, but around the vents needs work. That will save about 10k dollars!! We will be out of here before 5 years is up!
The garden has really suffered with too much rain and now no rain, so the summer stuff is really about all done, except for a few tomatoes and green beans. I have planted lettuce, kale, Swiss chard, beets and sugar peas. Hopefully we will get some rain by next weekend and in the meantime I am diligently watering. I have a gc for seeds from my son and DIL and I plan to buy beets, and some seeds for next spring. I think beets, chard and kale give a lot of bang for the buck since they give me two seasons for each crop!
I have been faithfully walking daily in our area, which is my favorite exercise ! I also am taking free classes at the neighborhood rec center. I was able to work my work schedule around my classes! I need to lose 10 pounds and the exercise won’t do it as my snacking is where the weight is coming on from, but exercise makes me feel so much better, and I love being outdoors to walk and garden and the sunshine is balm for the soul!!
Hope you all have a lovely week and Brandy, you bring so much joy to this community! Thank you!!!
Your dad is very talented. I love all of the pictures but the one of your dad and son is amazing.
1. My husband, son and I went away for 3 nights to Corvettes at Carlisle. We had a great time. The weather was perfect. We used some of Hubby’s Hilton points to lower our costs. Our son chose to share a room with us since it was paid for by us. He is very thrifty too. The hotel had a breakfast buffet so that is where we ate every morning. I asked the buffet lady if it was OK to take a few items for lunch. She said yes so I did each day. I took PBJ, bananas and hard boiled eggs. They had bowls of apples all over the hotel so we all took some. I came home with 8. We drove in one car and I made sandwiches for lunch on the way. I packed drinks and snacks.
2. We brought 6 reusable water bottles filled with lots of ice and water each day. There were filling stations in the hotel and at the park. We did splurge on some food . We were given free sodas at one booth. It was for a local group that Hubby is thinking of joining. We took very few freebies that were being handed out. We don’t need the clutter.
3. Our son treated us to dinner one night since we drove and paid for the hotel. Hubby and I had leftovers for dinner the last night. My son didn’t have any so he grabbed Chinese.
4.We met my daughter and SIL at Longwood Gardens on Saturday, on the way home. It’s about an 1&1/2 from them. It was beautiful. We all brought our reusable water bottles. We did splurge on lunch. We celebrated my SIL’s birthday that is next week. I brought them veggies from the garden and homemade pickles.
5. Our youngest daughter stayed at our house with our dog. She took care of the garden and picked so many tomatoes. I made a huge pot of sauce on Sunday. I had to get the huge pot out. I then used some of the sauce to make 2 lasagnas for Hubby and me. I need to make more pickles.
Oh Brandy that airplane and photo is just adorable!
I have been trying to get organized for Fall and going through the apt. to clean and better sort things but it is taking more time than I thought it would. I had a bit of a respiratory illness a couple of weeks back (not Covid) and it has left me a bit tired so I have had to pace myself.
Along with the cleaning I decided to do more long term food preserving. I bought 18 quart jars, oxygen absorbers and a small jar vacuum sealer. So far I have done oats, rice, beans and pasta. Next I’m going to order some 1/2 gallon jars for sugar and flour. I’ll feel better having everything in glass jars as I don’t want to risk any critters getting into things. I’m holding off buying anymore meat and baking supplies until I get the small freezer delivered.
I went through all my seeds and nuts – most jars just had some dregs left so I emptied everything, washed the jars and then restocked (the bulk pkgs. were in the fridge). I also went through my dried fruit – found some mouldy things as the heat and humidity got to them. Everything got cleaned and I’ve added more things to my list to restock next month.
Used $10 in Loyalty points to buy some items. Contacted the company about missing points – this seems to be happening more and more often lately so I keep a close eye on receipts!
Made two meatloaves to use up some half price mix of pork and beef. These are sliced and into the freezer for lots of upcoming meals. I got strips of chicken for 50% off so bought two pkgs. and stir fried them as soon as I got home. Cooked them separately with different spice combos, cooled and packaged them up for the freezer. Took out some spaghetti sauce from the freezer, added some extra veg and had two pasta dinners out of it. Intended to do some baking but the temps have gone up again so I will wait until the weekend when it will have cooled down.
The laundry has started to pile up so I am concentrating on getting that all done and up to date this week. I am also making a list of what I need to buy for the Fall/Winter – don’t intend on buying too much but I do need a few things. Clothes are so expensive so I want to ensure that I’m buying items that will stretch what I already own and that will last.
I hope the new seeds take Brandy – a lot of people seem to be talking about how challenging gardening has been this year so I admire all of you who persevere and work so hard.
The pictures you post are just like chocolate to me! A feast for the eyes, and a good reminder about slowing down and noticing the little things or the important things such as family!
This past week I:
1) Started a new blog! I have an older blog, but have a relative who has become quite critical of me. This caused me to simply not feel like posting, because this individual was verbally abusive towards me and quite frankly I did not want them to know anything I was up to, even simple things such as shopping and homemaking and such. So after stopping blogging for two years, a week ago I realized I could simply start a new blog and not tell this person about it! I am not using my name in this blog, so if they did stumble across it they will not know it is me. 🙂 I am counting this as frugal entertainment, as I am having fun doing it! If anyone is interested, my most recent money saving post is here. https://jesuscallsmefriend.blogspot.com/2024/08/pennies-from-heaven.html
2) I cooked all meals at home
3) I balanced my check book and my savings account as well. It is a chore I hate doing, but so necessary! And it’s a good thing I did, because literally today my mini van died! 😭 I was coming home from grocery shopping, and the air conditioner quit. I thought that was all that was wrong, but by the time I got home about 15 minutes later there was steam pouring out from under the hood! I called my brother in law who is a mechanic in another state, and he said possibly a water pump. So now I have a call in to the repair shop. I am praying it will be fixable for not a whole lot of $$$, but at least from balancing everything I DO know what is in my accounts! That is my silver lining!
Looking forward to reading what everyone is up to!
-Susan M. In Chattanooga
Your blog is beautiful.
Susan,
I am so sorry to hear that this happened ~ I have missed your updates. Here’s to a better experience this time around!
So sorry to hear you have a crazed relative taking it out on you. I have always loved your thumbnail picture as hydrangeas are my favorite flower. I will definitely start reading your new blog.
The photo of you father and son is a treasure!
On the frugal front:
In preparation for a long weekend out of town, we ate meals to use up the contents of the refrigerator. I froze produce that we could not eat before leaving.
We drove DD2 the 14 hours back to her southern university and moved her into her new apartment. The new apartment is smaller than her previous rental so she needed very little. She received several things she needed from her sister and cousin as they recently graduated from college and no longer needed the items. We packed snacks and drinks for the car ride and loaded audiobooks on the Libby app to enjoy on the drive down. We used the Upside app to save on gas and rewards points for free hotel stays while on the road. Fortunately, DD2’s roommates did not move in at the same time, and we were able stay in her apartment rather than a hotel for two nights while in the college town. This was a huge money savings since hotels are extremely expensive during college move in week.
Now that DD2 is away at school, HH and I will restart our modified pantry challenge. I will reverse menu plan and do my best to limit groceries to dairy, produce, and loss leaders.
We harvested lettuce, green peppers and jalapeños from the garden. We received apples from my supervisor’s tree.
I requested a raincheck on large eggs for $1.48/dozen.
DD1 gifted HH and I loaves of homemade bread for our birthdays. I received a beautiful focaccia and he received a gorgeous whole wheat boule. They were delicious!
I listened to the audiobook The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain (free) and James by Percival Everett. James is a reimagining of The Adventures of Huckelberry Finn told from Jim’s point of view. It was interesting to read them back to back.
I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal feats.
That photo with your father and your son is just wonderful, Brandy! Thanks for sharing.
We’re in the thick of getting ready for the children to head back to University (1 week to go) and the start of fall classes for me and the children (a week and a half away). It always seems there’s something else that needs to be done, found, cleaned, packed or purchased. We only have a few incidentals and groceries to get when the children and move and we should be good – we have everything from last year and between us and my parents (who are downsizing currently), we have been able to source just about everything.
I picked flowers from the garden to enjoy in the house as well as zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers and broccoli. We will be hosting cauliflower and eggplant soon. I’m planning on making salsa this coming week.
Our son hemmed a quilt he has been making for a friend graduating from foster care and leaving for University. The quilt was made using old denim jeans and was tied with yarn we had on hand. He backed it with fleece purchased on sale and did not use batting inside. The quilt is very warm and will hopefully be a “hug” for his friend as he begins a new adventure.
We mended two separated seams on clothing, a fallen hem on a pair of trousers and replaced three buttons that had fallen off.
I scrubbed the futon cover within an inch of it’s life and hung it to dry (it may be washed in a machine but needs to be hung to dry) rather than purchasing a new cover for our daughter to take to University along with the futon. We would have loved to purchase a new cover but they do not make that style anymore and they’re expensive online. Plus, she’s a University student and will cover it with a throw and decorative pillows anyway.
We attended the 50th wedding anniversary party of friends. It was a wonderful celebration and it was fun to see old photos and hear stories. We’ve only known them a few years and it was delightful to learn more about them. A lovely meal, good conversation and celebration. It was a lovely break in what has been a rough season for us.
Have a wonderful week everyone,
Lea
I was able to pay up front for my children’s music lessons (piano and violin) and save quite a bit of money that way. We saved enough to do that over the summer and it will be nice not to have monthly bills. Their school offers a discount for in-full tuition paid, but it is not refundable if the student withdraws for anything other than an emergency or move. We decided to pay monthly so that we can withdraw our children at any time for any reason. They do love the school and teachers, but in this case the discount does not justify the risk of not being able to be refunded!
I was given fresh peaches freshly picked. I put them straight in the fridge and need to remember to process them or eat them fresh soon! I love peach season!
We ate a simple quick meal at home, using what we had on hand and repurposing leftovers (boxed mac&cheese with beef hot dogs, green and purple grapes on the side). It filled bellies.
My mother-in-law picked up my husband and brought him home after a medical procedure. I am grateful she was able to do that. She is always willing to help and I think it made her feel useful to help her son in this way. It was a blessing to me as well.
I found some LEGO sets for 50% off in the Walmart clearance aisle. I needed to return some unused school supplies and decided to check that aisle really quickly. There were lots of big toy items on deep discount! I picked up some items I knew my boys would like and hid them in the back of my closet. I used the money we have been putting in our Christmas account, specifically for Christmas presents for our kids.
The “August blahs” have hit so I have little motivation to do anything. I’ve been trying to wean of from an antidepressant I’ve been on for 20+ years so it is making this year’s “blah” moods a little harder to handle. Add in menopause side effects and it’s a “party” 🤣 I am splitting pills so I didn’t need to get a refill which saved a co-pay amount.
My daughter is here for a month and we went thrifting. I found a fractions manipulative set for $2 for homeschooling our grandson. I also found a small cake server spatula in the atomic starburst pattern and the berry box that goes with a kids food set. We have very little gas left in our truck so we’ve stayed home except for a couple doc appts. I harvested sweet corn, cherry tomatoes, green beans and Swiss chard from the garden. All meals were made at home. I accepted some netting my parents no longer wanted for over my chicken run and a big bag of Capri’s and shorts my aunt no longer wanted. I buried 2 five gallon buckets worth of compost from my neighbor. She also sends over bunny treats on occasion. Picked up a free can of pumpkin when we were out for a doc visit. We went thru all our camping gear and cut it down by half – most of the kitchen wares were from when we went with kids or were on our boat. We no longer have the boat or camp with kids so we narrowed it down to the bare essentials for just the 2 of us. The rest will be sold or given away. I think that’s about it – since the t-storm has passed I can go back to bed (dog with severe storm anxiety)!
I love the photo with the plane and the one of you in the scarf.
I made $6 on Ebay for a shirt I didn’t want anymore.
I scanned my groceries in the NCP app to earn points.
An order from Chewy finally came through for $1.50 in my Ibotta account after 3 months, which put my total over $20, giving me enough to cash out. I got a Walmart gift card.
I made bread and focaccia and cooked a big pot of beans, putting some of each into the freezer for later.
I am reading The Murders in Great Diddling for free on Hoopla and I listened to an audiobook of The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio for free through Libby. These are the last two books I need for a “book bingo” game I am playing this summer. There’s no official prize, but I have a pint of ice cream I am saving to give myself as a reward when I finish the game.
All of your photos are lovely but the one of you in the red dress – so pretty! I love vintage clothes (or vintage-inspired) and that outfit is perfect. Reminded me I used to have seamed hose and do not anymore. Are they an Amazon find, as well?
*We continue to eat out of the garden and replant things when there is space. I did not buy any new seed this year as I had a lot left over from last year and got some from the neighbor who has moved so that has been a significant savings.
*We did some more work for this same neighbor – mowing and tidying up, primarily – as the farm has not been listed yet and received a $400 new-in-box T post setter, several food safe bins (for livestock feed), boxes of screws, a Gorilla cart, potting soil, and some herb divisions. Useful things for us and we had the chance to help someone.
*Sold some of my oldest son’s outgrown motocross clothing on FB.
*My youngest son continues to sell his art at a local youth maker’s market every other Saturday. He made $91 this past Saturday which is the second highest amount he has made this season. He always gets so many compliments and comes away from the event feeling very good. It’s a great confidence- booster! I always have a great time chatting with the other parents and, this time, met a mother who had come for the first time with her two young sons. It was almost scary how much we had in common (now and in our childhoods) and we hit it off famously. It’s a nice reminder that community events like this really are about more than what is being sold, it’s about connections. 🙂 Good conversation is a balm for the soul and free!
*Found a couple of useful blouses at a thrift shop this week. I find it very hard, lately, to find skirts I like – everything is either too short or too long. I am more of a midi skirt (and 1930s-50s inspired) kind of girl and that is in short supply at least where I shop. But, it gives me something to look for and that’s fun. I’ve considered buying maxi skirts and shortening them but them the proportions aren’t right. Meanwhile, I drool over the lovely things at son de flor – does anyone here follow them? Gorgeous pieces and I am sure worth every penny but more pennies than I have. 🙂 https://sondeflor.com/?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw8rW2BhAgEiwAoRO5rPge6Q9mTXwrZTjUOHygQZjkve_lYq4dtrnuGkNXw9i-04vem5rRmhoCrJQQAvD_BwE
*I have cut my own hair for many years but finally decided I needed help getting it shaped up better than I have been doing. Found a great stylist at a chain shop and she talked me through all she was doing so I could try to recreate it in between visits. A $20 haircut is not much to many people, I know, but I don’t have a complicated hair style and think I can keep it up (especially my bangs – she taught me some different techniques than I was using) and stretch out how often I have a paid cut. Sometimes, there is a middle road in frugality and this may be one for me. 🙂
*Was grateful to receive a dozen ears of some of the most delicious corn I have ever eaten from a neighbor. We did not grow any this year so this is extra appreciated. Summer just isn’t summer without corn on the cob!
*My oldest son continues with his mowing business and is the wealthiest 13-year-old I know. 🙂 He works hard and is a good saver as is my younger son. An entrepreneurial spirit is one thing we are really hoping to encourage in them and it seems to be happening.
*I have SO many eggs available to me and we sell them weekly (as you all know) but I wanted to find more recipes for their use. I can get into a recipe rut a mile wide! 🙂 I discovered the Fresh Eggs Daily blog which is great and did end up buying a used copy of her cookbook. It is very helpful if only for the index where recipes are listed by the number of eggs required. She also includes duck eggs in recipes which can be tricky given the larger size and higher fat and protein count – takes a little experimenting.
*Hoping all of you are enjoying these last weeks of summer – Fall has been in the air here in the mornings and it gives me renewed energy. Peace and blessings to all!
The stockings are from Walmart, but I would look on Amazon. The ones I have are lovely and really beautiful, but they only come in 2 sizes: a regular size and a queen size. I wear a small, and even though these have elastic at the top, they fall down every 2 seconds 🙄 So I will have to wear them with a garter belt. I was so happy to find them at $10 for 2 pairs. I’ll have to see if they will stay up with a garter belt.
You made me just burst out laughing when you wrote about stockings falling down- needing a garter belt! Cutest thing I have read in a long time
It was SO bad! I was planning to wear one but I thought it’s only a short time; I will only have to deal with them a few times. Ha! They were falling down every 2 seconds! Like all the way down!!! I will try the belt at home with this pair and if it doesn’t work, I will have to give them to someone else
Now I am cackling like a hen , I have a picture in my mind of you wrestling to keep them in place
Seriously that picture of you is STUNNING
Thanks!
Brandy, is there anyway (and it might not be worth the time) for you to see an encase,ent of elastic at the top of the stocking? Just a thought…
They have elastic at the top.
The problem is they’re too big. There is just one size for small through large. I wear a small. So at first they look just right but then they fall 3 second later lol.
Thank you for the info! 🙂
Your boys are amazing – you must be very proud of them! I think one of the saddest things I see is when I’m on the subway and there is a baby or a toddler trying to get a parent’s attention but the parent is too busy scrolling through their phone to pay any attention or to engage with the child in any way…
I checked out that website – gorgeous clothes but outside my price range too – I think I’d also have to add about 6 inches in height and drop about 50 pounds! 🙂
Thank you, Margie! Yes, I am rather fond of them. 🙂 I agree with the phone-as-baby-distractor. When they were little, I always seemed to be the only parent at the pediatrician or wherever one waits with children reading them a book or playing a card game with them instead of handing them a phone. But then, I don’t like to use my phone much, either, so it wasn’t hard. I like to think that now they have mobile phones of their own (bought this summer with their own money second-hand and they pay the monthly bill) that this practice had something to do with their responsible use of them now. They use them for practical purposes and then put them away.
If you like sondeflor check out The Pretty Dress Company – it is well-named! Slightly more affordable but only slightly. 🙂 I think I may have to improve my dress-making skills. 🙂 https://www.theprettydresscompany.com/
Our son started mowing our lawn at 11. A neighbor asked if he would do his when he was 12. His lawn mowing business took off from there. Most of his first car money was from mowing lawns. Very few kids do it anymore near me.
I wrote a reply before but I may have accidentally deleted it.
I do not have any special advice about how to save money. I spent a lot of money
on necessary items but everything purchased was at least 50% off. I bought a skirt and a blouse
from Land’s End for 50% off and free postage.
I enjoyed an afternoon visit from my second nephew who was passing through my city.
He is very difficult to photograph and over the years I had yet to get a nice photo. He is a very attractive young man but everyone just tries unsuccessfully to get a good photo. We had a garden visit.
Afterwards, I succeeded in getting wonderful photos. I will give my brother, his father, a couple of enlargements for Christmas. cost: about $5.00.
I want to replace the pasta I eat with veggie noodles. I bought a little handheld Paderno spiralizer to
make the veggie pasta. Usually it costs $15 but I got it on sale for $3. I’ll see how it works…At least it won’t take up counter space as it’s small. I bought some glass food storage bowls so I can freeze casseroles and they are oven proof. Greatly reduced.
Coincidentally, just after I bought the spiralizer, my next door neighbour gave me 4 large zucchinis, a small spaghetti squash, a bag of lettuce, 3 tomatoes. I returned the bag of lettuce because I’m allergic to it. The zucchini will be perfect to spiralize. I will put them in the freezer. They can be used later instead of pasta or added into homemade soup.
Starting yesterday, we are on another month of outside watering restrictions while the city does further repairs to the feeder main. This has saved me some money but I fear for our 60 year old trees. I tried to water them in as much as possible as one would normally do before winter sets in, while abiding by the then dicta of only watering for 2 hours per week, but I don’t know if it was enough to save them. Before the water restrictions started (no watering outside at all), I put water in several big pails and bins, watered my flower pots, etc. We will get rain but will it be enough?
I have wanted to buy a portable induction cooktop for a while. The model I had my eye on went on sale on amazon.ca. In addition, I had enough reward points from my telephone company to buy it.
I wanted one because it has a timer, and once the time is up, it shuts off. If you don’t set a time, it automatically shuts off after two hours. My oven also has a timer but the old stovetop does not. I thought about buying an induction range but although the oven has a timer, it is still hard, if not impossible, to find one with timers on the stovetop elements. And they are very expensive (about $4,000). So my portable unit saves a lot of money plus being free because of reward points. You must never leave a kitchen when you have things on the stovetop. I will still do that but if I should faint or for other health reasons cannot reach the stove, the portable cooktop will shut itself off. I hope that the unit doesn’t trip my circuits. I tried to research this as best as possible. I will use it on low wattage even if it takes longer to cook. I only consume about $12 of electricity per month (not counting the fixed admin and other charges of about $80) so will not save much if any money by cooking on induction. It is mostly for the safety features. I also get tired of having to reach over a hot burner to turn it on or off. I will no longer have to do that. I joined Amazon Prime for 30 days to get free delivery on that and other items I needed. I still need to get a knee sleeve.
I had reward points left over so I will use those to either pay a phone bill or I will get gift certificates to give to my great nieces for Christmas presents. I will discontinue giving adult nieces and nephews gifts. They are difficult to buy for and have everything they need. I will instead give a gift to charity in their names.
I designed my Christmas cards. The average cost per card is $1. I ordered the prints for my brother at the same time. I will pick them up en route when I go to visit my 94 year old friend in her garden.
On the principle of “you only live once”, I splurged and paid someone to take me
west of the city to see an errant Whooping Crane. Half of the city has gone to see this bird. I have never seen one and probably never will.
In some ways it was a waste of money. My friend who had been out an hour earlier saw it at close range but we didn’t. Someone who was there an hour after we left saw it. We did not. Just bad luck in a way. But something incredible happened when we were there. It was not unexpected that we would see other birdwatchers but we parked right next to a birder whom I have often wanted to meet.
It is a long story but our lives intertwined briefly and indirectly some 18 years ago. We spoke for an hour through our open car windows. I never knew it so long ago but I was saved by providence from a very unpleasant occurrence — she explained what had happened to her and but for the grace of God the same would have happened to me. I was really shocked to hear the unpleasantry that was inflicted on her. I went away in awe that this totally random meeting out in the countryside, against all odds, led to my learning the full story, a story until I heard it I had no idea about. It is too long to go into details. Was the birdwatching money I spent wasted? In this most unexpected way, I think not!
While I was out on the country road, I saw a rectangular thick-plastic bin. Our proofreader in Saskatchewan has adapted one of these agricultural bins to be a water reservoir. I needed a photo of one of these so I can adapt it for the same purpose. The problem with rain barrels is they have to be drained, disconnected, moved and stored inside over winter. This bin does not. I would only have to drain it (easy enough) and disconnect it BUT it can be left in place over the winter even in minus 30 degree weather. It holds a lot of water, is safe for children. I got a photo of one of those. Between now and next spring, I just have to find one to buy then get it retrofitted with a spigot.
I won’t go into further bargains I found. I have almost everything I need, including clothes to replace
the clothes from last year that ended up in tatters (beyond repair).
I tried to avail myself of Save On Foods special on meat, Twenty for Plenty, that “I” told me about. An acquaintance works there but the bargain was over so he bought me $20 worth of meat anyway.
Superstore has advertised a 25 pound case of peaches for $35 but the ad says it’s not available. I would make some jam but put a lot in my freezer. sigh! Perhaps they will be available next week.
Brandy, your photo of your Dad and son is simply charming! It is nice to read of everyone’s ideas and struggles. It is good to have you back.
Isn’t it strange how life works out sometimes and what a coincidence – I’d say it ended up being money well spent. It is a bit spendy for me at the moment too but I’m looking at it as investing in myself and my home. Once I stop working totally I will not be able to afford certain things so thought it best to do it bit by bit now. I find putting things in my Amazon cart and then waiting really makes me think through things and think twice – or even trice – before finally making that purchase.
Calgary’s and now Montreal’s watermain problems have really made me think about how much water I have and have added a few more bottles – it never hurts. I hope things work out with the trees – we are currently waiting for yet another thunderstorm this evening – wish I could send some your way.
Margie, that is exactly what I do with my Amazon cart! I move them into the Save for Later part. I have loads in there…which means that I didn’t spend all that money!
Hi Margie,
Good to hear from you. One thing that happened to me before I retired and lost benefits was that my dentist discovered my teeth were cracking under my old amalgam (mercury fillings).
The fillings themselves were in fine shape but underneath the tooth was cracking. Since this was discovered two years before retiring, I had time to have my dentist fix the cracks, then replace the fillings with porcelain ones. All in all, the cost was about $10,000, of which $8,000 was paid by insurance benefits. Had I left them the cracks would have become cavities and then root canals probably would have been needed. If you have old amalgam fillings, I suggest you have your dentist check (by xray) for cracks as they are not uncommon.
Brandy- question about planting your own red noodle bean seeds.
I have red noodle beans and have harvested and saved a few pods that are overgrown or seem too large to eat. I’ve let them dry out. Would those be plantable next year? I’ve been assuming so but wanted to ask. Thank you so much.
Yes, they will work for that! It’s an open-pollinated type of bean (not a hybrid) so it will grow true to seed.
My biggest money saver discovery is a new (to me) website EstateSales.net. If you put in your zip code (in the USA), it shows the estate sales in your area and pictures of items for sale. You don’t know the prices until you arrive. We learned to wait until the last day because most places offer discounts. My husband and I also learned we are weirdos and love looking inside other people’s houses. I have always enjoyed the tour of homes during the holidays but estate sales don’t require expensive tickets and it is quite acceptable to open closet doors and cabinets! Who knew I would like searching through other peoples drawers? (We have found some really odd things). It has been a great resource for everyday items like light bulbs, cleaning products, tools, and especially items for my son’s apartments. At one place, I noticed a lady buying all of the food in the pantry for almost nothing. It was obvious by her happiness that she needed it. She impressed me because she saved it from being wasted in a landfill.
It has become our fun time out. I pack a lunch, text our sons and tell them to be on the lookout for pictures if we find something on their lists. Sometimes the prices are outrageous, other times the stuff is junk, but ever so often, you hit a gold mine.
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
Our trip to the Amish produce auction. https://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2024/08/amish-trip-to-produce-auction.html
This month’s vegetable garden tour. https://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/2024/07/julys-garden-2024.html
I love estate sales! Where else can you snoop in a stranger’s house and not get in trouble. 😁
Jeannie – I grew up going to estate sales and my parents worked for an estate sale company at one time. Between that and thrift shops, I grew up thinking it was “weird” to buy things new in a retail shop! Still is a very uncommon thing for me to do.
I find estate sales have decreased dramatically in number (might depend on where you live) since the advent of FB marketplace and miss the days when there was at least one (or more) almost every weekend. Along with inherited items, my home is filled with things I found at sales over the years. One of the best gifts I ever got was what was a large sum of money to me at the time from my parents for my college graduation. It came wrapped in a card made from estate sale ads and the invitation to buy all I needed for my first apartment with their help to move in. We had so much fun and I have some of those things still to this day.
At the risk of a bit of self-promotion, I have just started sharing some of my favorite things on IG, if you are interested. @mrsharrisstayshome 🙂
Mountain Mama Dawn, the sales are increasing in our area due to the population explosion. The prices are also increasing. I used to carry around a bag of coins, now it is dollar bills. One place refused to sell me something for less than a dollar, it was a canning jar. I put it back. Now I gather up items and offer one price for everything. My husband and I seem to be lost in the upward spiral of inflation. We keep getting sticker shock. Yesterday at the dollar store (should be called the hundred-dollar-store), I passed a can of generic Veg-all for $.95! for one can! I said, “I remember buying those four for a dollar.” It has been forever since I bought one since I can my own mixed vegetables from the odd bits and bobs from the garden. My husband replied, “We sound like our parents always saying , “I remember only paying such and such.”
Interesting how things are different in different locales. While the prices are going up, it is still fun to look. I just find I am more and more decerning which is a good thing overall. 🙂
I love estate sales for the same reasons, Jenny. I went into one house that had been bland and beige but then walked through the swinging kitchen door to find myself in a 1940’s vintage kitchen original to the house complete with breakfast nook and a plug for toaster and percolator. I exclaimed aloud about how wonderful it was only to get a very nasty look from the woman I encountered there…Never mind. I LOVED it. I’ve visited many a home in our community that I might never have seen otherwise courtesy of yard sales and I love poking in cupboards and drawers and recall just where I bought each item I’ve brought home.
Terri C., it is amazing what you see and how much you learn about the family. We play a private eye game when we get back in the car where we discuss all we learned. We will have the person’s past life mapped out and every secret discovered before we reach the next destination. It motivates me to clean and declutter when I get home.
Sweet pictures!
1. I listed things in my Etsy shop. I’m carrying more supplies, as well as finished items. I get so much joy from making things and I know other people do too!
2. Listing steadily on FB marketplace and selling as well. I love that I can earn even with my poor health and trips away.
3. Watching the budget like a hawk, especially in the food department.
I’m enjoying the grandbabies this week so not as much home stuff as usual.
Brandy, I saw those photos on Instagram of you and your son and dad and honestly LOVED them all but especially of you with the suitcase. It’s a gorgeous picture!
Last week I continued to work on using up expired Pantry items and occasionally an older freezer item. I’m down to just a few cans that I still need to use but the mileage I got out of gathering all those items and being purposeful in using them up was worth it. It was a budget stretcher, for sure.
We had a call from our investor about renewing our annuity. He brought us the good news that he could double our present interest rate but then offered a safe investment opportunity where we’re guaranteed no loss and may earn triple the going interest rate. We were pretty pleased with the options. And grateful. We’d just had a big finance discussion a week or so ago and were trying to determine how best to proceed. We can’t use the annuity for another 3 years (it’s an age thing and hubby isn’t there, yet) but it was reassuring somehow and made us optimistic about the rest of our finances.
I’ve been using cloth napkins for years and had some blue and white and red and white striped napkins that just looked dingy. I was about to put them in the rag bag to use as cleaning cloths when I recalled seeing something somewhere about boiling them. I added baking soda and water to a deep pot, put in the napkins, let them boil then simmer for two or three hours. I rinsed them well, put them in the washer and they came up looking brand new! Now they are back in the napkin drawer and I’ll get a few more years from them.
I put two or three meals into the freezer for my pregnant daughter’s postpartum days. I just made a double recipe of things and froze half for her. I purchased heavy-duty foil pans with cardboard lids, so she can either dump in her crockpot or pop them in the oven and then toss the container.
I broke a candle I was unwrapping to put in the candleholders on my dining table. I didn’t want to toss it, so I got out the transparent tape and taped the thing right around the middle. I used the ‘invisible’ type of tape and you can’t even tell it’s been taped. It’s so camouflaged that my eagle-eyed son never saw it, but did spy a tiny plastic dot stuck to the thing near the base. He was shocked when I told him the candle had been broken.
I am slowly decorating for autumn. I am not buying anything new. I’m just using what I have. It’s amazing how often moving something from one spot and placing it in another makes it appear as though I’ve something fresh and new in the room.
My daughter gifted me four Currier and Ives prints in frames that they had in their stash of things. I hung them in my kitchen along with a set of plates with botanical fruit prints on them that I picked up in a thrift store ten years ago. I paired the Four Season prints with the botanical plates and it looks so nice!
Cooked a shank bone of ham. I got enough meat off that bone to serve us supper and then have about 2 cups leftover. I had cooked that in my slow cooker…then I recalled I had another ham bone in the freezer, so I pulled that out, added water, and let it cook all night. This morning, I took that bone out of the broth and when it had cooled, picked it over. I got about 3 cups of meat off that bone! I have at least a quart of broth, too. This from something that some might consider ‘trash’.
I don’t know who might need to hear this but my son has been unemployed for almost a year. He finally was able to get SNAP EBT benefits (foodstamps we used to call them). He discovered that he is allowed to use those benefits to BUY seeds and fruiting plants and trees. He’s had a garden every year but wasn’t able to plant this year because he didn’t have funds to buy seeds. He just bought fruit trees, seeds, and berry bushes to plant in his yard. I think this is a brilliant idea on the part of the state to allow this! What an encouraging thing to promote GARDENING as a food security measure. So if anyone here is on EBT/SNAP do check to see if you can do the same if you have the ability to grow food. Also, I discovered that if he bought produce at farmer’s markets, they DOUBLE how much he can buy for the money he spends there.
Hi Terri also let your son know that if he buys heritage seeds he can save his own seeds from his plants and never run out again.
Hi Brandy, I hope you’re doing well. Do you mind sharing which YT channel you’re using to learn Urdu? Thank you.
I am using Urdu Academy Jakarta (this is the most helpful one for me). The one I just started following is Learn Urdu with Sara.
UrduPod101 is also very helpful. They have a paid app (I tried the free trial of it but ultimately went with the Ling app (which is $40 for 6 months) after trying both.
UrduPod 101 has audio books available from my library via the Hoopla app (not on the Libby app for some reason but I did check both). The lessons on the audio books are the same ones as the ones on the paid app, which is one of the reasons I chose to use the Ling app instead. I can listen to the audio books while driving and I listen to YouTube videos while gardening. I try to do a lesson on the app each day.
I’m not always able to study as much as I would like, but I am making (slow) progress. I also did find a book ($50 on sale) but I have not done a lot with the book yet.
Thank you for the detailed response. Are you learning to speak only or read/ write as well? Thank you.
My goal is complete fluency. I think it would be a shame not to be able to read Urdu poetry.
My main focus right now is speaking, but I am slowly learning both.
I was with some friends who said no worries, they know I am learning and will speak English in front of me. Within 30 seconds, everyone had switched to Urdu 😂 So I have a bit more urgency in learning to speak first 😁 The resources I am using include both.
It was a great frugal week in Houston, TX!
We enjoyed free coffee & donuts after church on Sunday. As we were one of the last ones to leave, we got to take home 2 dozen glazed that the kids enjoyed for breakfast the next day.
I bought the Sam’s day old rotisserie chicken to eat and freeze for future meals.
I bought a lot of treat foods at Ollie’s for 75% off, since they were still on the shelf, but past date: Dove chocolates, M&Ms, chips, protein bars, instant oatmeal, cereal, cookies, etc. It’s nice to have these treats for the kids sometimes.
I took the kids to eat at Whataburger for $32; even the cashier was impressed. We got mostly kid meals (which I paid to upsize the fries), plus I had a coupon for a free chicken strip sandwich when buying fries and a drink. The order was delivered to our table wrong (fries not upsized like I paid for), and when I asked them to correct the mistake, the cashier said they would take back the too-small fries (which my kids had already started eating) to replace. As we had already been waiting about 15 minutes for the food, and kids had already started to eat the fries, I asked if he was sure they wanted to take back the partially eaten fries since it was their error, or would they just replace them? I didn’t want our burgers to get cold(er) while waiting to eat. I was polite but firm, and he said they would bring out the correct size I paid for once they were ready. So, he later brought out a tray with the 5 medium sized fries I paid for, and we ended up with more than plenty. Sometimes you do have to be polite but assertive in these situations.
I sold more items on Facebook Marketplace: cash in, junk out!
I found several Lululemon pieces at Goodwill Outlet (priced by the pound) that I’ll set aside for my Lululemon garage sale.
It looked like a couple of my classes wouldn’t make, but the department chair decided to let them continue regardless of low enrollment, so I’m getting to teach 3 classes + labs this semester, which is a lot for me (part-time). An elderly neighbor will babysit Mondays for me while the other kids are at school, and everything else is online.
I did less shopping this week, as it seems we have a lot of food odds and ends.
I encouraged another mom of a big family who’s looking to cut grocery costs; I’m aware that I probably seem extreme compared to others where we live. That’s ok, I am comfortable knowing I feed my children well on the budget we have.
I made chocolate syrup.
I need to see if it’s cheaper to make or buy pancake syrup. It’s so inexpensive at Joe V’s for the generic, I suspect that the sugar or corn syrup would cost more to buy, but we’ll see.
I did buy some marked down breakfast sausage, $3 for 36 frozen patties, which is a great price for me.
I sent two kids in the store while the baby slept to buy me a bunch of the .97 cartons of raspberries on sale at HEB. I love getting the loss leaders.
I had a long conversation with my second oldest son (age 9) about being poor. He used the term to describe us in a derogatory way when was unhappy with some of our life choices. In truth, we aren’t poor, but we earn and spend much less than his peers, who come from dual income families. I really need to work on changing his mindset and focus my words more on our blessings, instead of our constraints.
Hope everyone has a nice, frugal week!
Hi Leigh Ann! I used to make my own maple syrup. Very easy! 1 1/2 cups water, 2 cups sugar. Heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add a couple of drops of vanilla and maple extract and there you have it! Store in fridge. It’s delicious! I make my own vanilla extract as well. Get a large bottle of Costco vodka. I buy their organic vanilla beans (available around November/December for baking and have been a great price). Slice 5 vanilla pods lengthwise and stick in the bottle. Put in a dark place. When I remember I shake. Must steep at least two months (I have done this time frame and it was fine, but also done over six months). Strain through cheesecloth and bottle (dark bottles). Stores for years. Just read how to make almond extract (I already make my own almond milk…easy peasy) by boiling almonds to get skins off. Cool and slice. Place in mason jar and cover with vodka. Let sit two weeks. 😉
Oh, Leigh Ann, we have had the conversation about the word “poor” with our boys many times. We have found it to be clear to explain the difference between “low on funds” and “poor.” To our way of thinking, “poor” is a mindset and may have little to do with one’s financial situation. We are fortunate that being “low on funds” is usually a temporary situation that we can rectify by being extra conscious of spending and using our creativity even more. Not everyone is this fortunate, we realize. We use the story of my FIL who is the second to youngest of 13 children. His family was of very modest means (like no indoor plumbing until his teens – and this as not by choice but circumstance) but his mother always made sure her children were well-fed and clean with neat clothing. Of course, if he was late for supper, he didn’t get to eat because it would be all gone! 🙂 She was known for raking the dirt in front of their house into neat lines (they had no grass in their mill house yard) because she thought it looked pretty. She told her children “it doesn’t cost anything to be clean and neat” and she taught her children to take good care of the things they were fortunate enough to have. Her lesson was “poor” was having a bad attitude, not being grateful, not caring for things you own and the people you love. That lesson was certainly passed down in my husband’s family and a similar one in mine (didn’t matter I was born waaaaaaaay after the Depression. In my family, it might as well have happened yesterday. 🙂 I am grateful for those lessons as they remain relevant.) I am sure your children are absorbing all of your good examples and will come to appreciate your efforts in the future. 🙂
What terrific photos, Brandy. 🙂 The one of your father and your youngest son will surely promt a special memory when your son is older.**
Savings this past week included:
Thankfully accepting two huge cabbages from a neighbor. I made coleslaw and cooked stuffed cabbage in the crackpot. The hamburger meat came from the deep freezer and was extended with barley and rice. I used my sister’s recipe. It says to cook the cabbage rolls in V-8 juice. I substituted the Walmart, lower sodium brand. It was tasty and I saved $1.**
Our new clothes dryer wasn’t working well. I went outside, removed the vent covers and vacuumed out the vent, as far as I could reach, with the shop vacuum. My hubby did the same inside the house. He also unkinked the vent hose. The dryer works so much better now! It’s so important to clean the dryer vents yearly to prevent fires.**
Washed, and vacuumed/cleaned the car at home. The least expensive, drive thru car wash is $12 in my area, and it doesn’t get the car very clean.**
Mowed, weed walked and edged the lawn. Savings $60. We had a “yard guy” when I traveled more. He did a wonderful job, but it was so difficult to get him to show up. It takes me 3 days to do what he accomplished in 1 hour with his riding mower! I pace myself due to the high 90’s and extreme humidity. Free exercise and the lawn is done when I need it. **
I began to pack sandwiches for our Sunday post-church trip to the gym. We were taking granola bars, packaged peanut butter crackers, and cheese sticks but my husband burns so many calories swimming that a sandwich satisfies his hunger much more.** I also did the usual carrying a refillable water bottle in the car with me when running errands.**
I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend.
Beautiful garden and I love all that red! The plane looks like something my late dad would have built for us/grandkids. Glad you have an awesome dad too!
A friend had a milestone birthday and wanted no gifts. I offered her 1/10 of her age in service. She gladly accepted and I helped her clean out a basement that had felt like a daunting task to her.
I dug up irises that desperately needed to be divided moved them to the back of the property and moved another plant that wasn’t thriving to its old location. A few neighbors have been commenting on the lovely changes I have been making to our landscaping. I also purchased 2 shrubs that I have been wanting to purchase, each on the 50% off tarp. I pruned branches that are long and straight to save for the garden next year – either as stakes, tripods or small fencing for leaf mulch.
A soup recipe called for 5 cups of broth, so I pulled some saved chicken carcass pieces from the freezer to make some. I will can a bunch of broth when I have more time.
Hope everyone has a great week!
You look gorgeous, and I love the airplane! Gas is $2.66 gallon in University town and $3.19 gallon further south. I have made all meals at home. They have varied from lasagna, spaghetti, deconstructed egg roll, hamburger rice with cheese, chicken on a bun, pizza, wedge salad with homemade blue cheese dressing with blue cheese I bought at Aldi, tacos, coleslaw, fried potatoes, lots of watermelon, tomato sandwiches, eggs, homemade cinnamon toast, etc. to other meals I am sure I have forgotten. Anyways, no eating out. I think the last time we had a to go meal from somewhere was around July 4th. I walked in neighborhood, and local river parks, and just basically enjoyed my front porch in the evenings, and also on weekends during the early morning hours. I figure I paid my hard earned money for my house I might as well enjoy it as much as possible during good weather!
Brandy, I absolutely love your floral photos, and especially love the photo of you (which should be on a book cover) and the one of your dad and son (truly a classic)! I am glad for you that you are feeling up to writing again🥰Well, so much has happened over our summer. Our son’s best friend since he was five lost his mom four years ago. He lost his dad end of May. We have been his second family for years and our boys have been his brothers. Now we are his family. We were able to purchase his mom’s vehicle for a very reasonable price (less than what I paid for my used Toyota Avalon in 2012); I love the Avalon and we are keeping it because it is still in good shape, but it has over 275,000 miles on it so it was getting to the point that I didn’t want to keep driving it 3,000 miles round trip to see the kids. Our adopted son made sure the brakes were done, new tires put on, oil change, detailed, and nothing wrong before he sold it to us and paid for the title and registration! Totally unexpected and what a gift! Of course, we offered to pay for all of that, but he refused. Vehicle has low mileage and will last for years…AND gives us room for all the stuff we haul to all the kids (with him, we now have 10 kids, six spouses, and five grandkids). And, that was another thing that happened this summer…we added two baby girls to our family, born 11 days apart to our youngest son and third youngest son and their wives. Thrilled is putting it mildly! Two trips to Florida were part of all of this (first for the showers and then to meet them). Then, my husband is taking a new position with his agency and we are moving by end of year to northeast Tennessee! In the next couple of months we have to get rid of what we aren’t taking, get house ready to sell, find a new place to buy…and I have a two week trip to British Columbia to visit our oldest daughter and her family (they are in the process of moving into a new house which adds four more hours to the trip, which is all day to start), middle daughter coming home for a weekend beginning of October, several kids coming home for our town’s fall festival and a last visit to the old homestead, trip to house hunt, and I suspect another trip south to take stuff to kids. When we travel, we mostly stay with friends or family, pack coolers so we don’t buy on the road, use Upside if we can for gas. We are eating down freezers and our pantry stock (harder when there are only two of us). My eggs come from my nephew’s chickens and I am getting produce from mine and my friend’s gardens. I don’t have to buy too many things at the store, so our grocery bill is very low. I am selling things on FB marketplace and eBay so there will be less to move. (A little odd cash) We won’t need the snowblower so that will go as well. Finally, able to sell or get rid of things hubby has been holding on to for years because he is motivated to lessen the load now.😏 It will be hard to leave this community…I have lived here 27 years, but I am looking forward to this next chapter in our life’s journey and will be coming back every 4-6 weeks to spend time here with my friends. It’s only a day away! And a day from the Florida kids and the cape. Oh, I have been hunting for Corningware for Christmas gifts for the kids (they want the vintage stuff because of its quality). I have found some great deals and my friend just gifted me eight pieces for the collections yesterday! Much to look forward to and feeling blessed, even though I am stressed about moving.
Laura – you have got a LOT on your plate right now! All positive things but still exhausting and a bit stressful I’m sure. Good luck with everything.
Thank you Margie!
Laura – Good luck with your move to NE TN. I’ll wave at you from NW NC! 🙂
I will wave right back! Lots to look forward to!
Laura, it’s wonderful that you have added another son to your family in this way. Bless you.
PennyP 🥰
I think you will enjoy east Tn! My daughter goes to college in Johnson City and loves it. We have come to enjoy the area too and have contemplated moving south. Best wishes!
What terrific photos, Brandy. 🙂 The one of your father and your youngest son will surely promt a special memory when your son is older.**
Savings this past week included:
Thankfully accepting two huge cabbages from a neighbor. I made coleslaw and cooked stuffed cabbage in the crackpot. The hamburger meat came from the deep freezer and was extended with barley and rice. I used my sister’s recipe. It says to cook the cabbage rolls in V-8 juice. I substituted the Walmart, lower sodium brand. It was tasty and I saved $1.**
Our new clothes dryer wasn’t working well. I went outside, removed the vent covers and vacuumed out the vent, as far as I could reach, with the shop vacuum. My hubby did the same inside the house. He also unkinked the vent hose. The dryer works so much better now! It’s so important to clean the dryer vents yearly to prevent fires.**
Washed, and vacuumed/cleaned the car at home. The least expensive, drive thru car wash is $12 in my area, and it doesn’t get the car very clean.**
Mowed, weed walked and edged the lawn. Savings $60. We had a “yard guy” when I traveled more. He did a wonderful job, but it was so difficult to get him to show up. It takes me 3 days to do what he accomplished in 1 hour with his riding mower! I pace myself due to the high 90’s and extreme humidity. Free exercise and the lawn is done when I need it. **
I began to pack sandwiches for our Sunday post-church trip to the gym. We were taking granola bars, packaged peanut butter crackers, and cheese sticks but my husband burns so many calories swimming that a sandwich satisfies his hunger much more.** I also did the usual carrying a refillable water bottle in the car with me when running errands.**
I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend.
Really lovely to hear from everyone this week.
We continue to have children from abroad stay with us to learn English. We took our current student to a stately home today (on our annual pass) and enjoyed the folly, gardens and country house. Always nice to offer practical lessons (this time on Victorian history) as well as get a walk and some fresh air! We have just been offered a French lady to come stay in December which should be fun. I wonder if she’ll swap me English for French tuition!
On that note, Brandy, would you kindly share how you recommend improving old language skills, as you mention in your post. I would like to brush up my French again for her arrival (was never fluent but did a lot at school). How best to go about this? Feels easier now with online resources but it’s hard to know where to start. Many thanks!
We always have a big music festival during August bank holiday which is located a few miles from us. We were therefore full with Airbnb guests who were attending-all so lovely and very respectful of our home. We rent out two double rooms and it was very useful money for not too much work.
We have an expensive month next month due to home repairs so we are in ‘spend nothing’ mode to save. Eating out of pantry and freezer and only doing ‘free’ things. I’ve given birthday presents from my stock and made cakes as gifts.
I wish all a very happy week!
I did a post about relearning French that you can find here
We have some major renovation costs at my business but still trying to save money where we can. I applied for a small business grant. I’m buying a few things used like light fixtures and furniture.
Cooking most meals at home, and mostly plant based/bean meals. We had some planned events out, which weren’t cheap but very fun. Had friends over and cooked hot dogs. Declined a take out night with friends, visited with them early in the day, then came home for dinner. Still eating kale salads and lots of fresh tomatoes, other veggies I’ve been buying from the farmers market. I have a friend that offered pears, so we will go picking this weekend. I’ve been trying to make more popcorn for snacks instead of chips. I got some butternut squash from family.
I was given some hand me down clothes for my kids, and I’ll pass along what we won’t use.
Sold a few things on eBay. Ordered homeschool curriculum with a friend to save on shipping. Enjoying library books.
Week 1
-I harvested my rutabagas. These will be peeled diced and canned this weekend with carrots and potatoes, once we dig the potatoes. I use this mixture in pasties, soups, and casseroles. I canned 10 pints
-I dehydrated mint, camomile, and lemon balm.
-I made a batch of refrigerator pickles
-During the month of August our small town is having a fresh produce give away from local CSA’s and local farms. This is produce that would probably be thrown away. It is every Thursday. I went and got, a dozen eggs, a pound of ground pork, 2 small zucchini, 2 large green peppers, a head of romaine lettuce, a head of cauliflower, a cantaloupe, a watermelon, and a huge bunch of dill. The cauliflower was blanched and frozen in 3 vacuum sealed bags, the peppers-one was used in refrigerator cucumbers and the other made a supper of stuffed peppers for us. The zucchini were fried up with onions and tomatoes for another supper. There was much more produce there like cucumbers, ear corn, beets, cabbage, and rutabagas. But I didn’t need these as I have them in my garden so didn’t take any of those.
-I had a $10 coupon for Maurice’s for my birthday. I shopped the clearance and bought a long sleeved brown striped button down shirt (can easily wear into fall) and a long sleeved floral knit dress for $7.76. They were each $8.88 and we have no tax on clothes here.
-I bought an oil lamp for $15, a transfer-ware china cup marked England for $3, and a medium gathering basket from Longaberger for $10 at an antique store. I have lamp oil and wicks. My current oil lamp was not rolling the wick up easily. This is what usually gives out on these lamps. I use this lamp when we have a power outage or sometimes just for ambience in the fall and winter in the evening. So glad to find a functioning one. The cup went into my sugar bin to use as a scoop. I smile every time I use it. The basket is holding some books in the living room that I am reading. I always have multiple books going, plus cookbooks that I am looking through. So all things that are useful. That is what my goal is when I thrift, hit up a garage sale, or go to an antique store, something that is useful and will be used.
-My large crock pot gave up the ghost. Oh my the cost of a new one. I did buy one from instapot that the insert is an enameled pot. You can sauté and brown in it before using the crockpot function. It was only $25 more than a conventional crockpot. It also has a bake function, so think sourdough bread. My daughter has this one and she loves it and uses it often. I am waiting for it to arrive in the mail. I have been haunting thrift stores and could not find a used one in decent shape. I use mine quite a bit and I was missing it so I decided to buy a new one.
-I picked up my Azure order. I got everything decanted into containers that needed it and got the rest put away in pantry and refrigerator.
Week 2
-Green beans are blooming and producing again. I canned 6 pints of canned green beans.
-I fermented 2 quarts of dill pickles and 2 heads of cabbage are fermenting in the crock for sauerkraut. Canned 10 pints after sauerkraut and a couple of quarts are in the fridge fresh.
-The tomatoes are really slow this year, just a few for fresh eating so far.
-Not much else this week, a lot of scrapbooking, I have 2 albums due in Sept for 2 of the grands.
Have a great week!
I mended 2 clothing items. My youngest participated in an online research study and earned $20 in Amazon gift cards, and they spent it on craft supplies so I didn’t have to buy them any. I picked up free cabbage, yellow and spaghetti squash, mangoes, green beans, tomatoes, and other produce and shared some with my elderly neighbor. I took walks through my neighborhood and found over $1 in coins. On one of those walks, I came across a curb pile by a little free pantry. Someone had stuffed the pantry with clothes and shoes instead of non-perishable food. I took out the inappropriate items. One of the boxes of shoes was Crocs. I looked at the size and it was a size that 2 of my kids wear. I opened the box and they were like-new Crocs (the lined ones) with no visible wear. I took those with me. My kid was thrilled, and those Crocs usually sell for $55!
Brandy thank you for this website. I’ve spent the past few days looking at the 40 Cents and the menus.
Tomatoes are coming in strong after a slow and decaying start. I canned 41 pints of tomato sauce yesterday. I harvested eggplant, bell peppers(some just cut in half for stuffed peppers with the sausage apple stuffing muffins I have in freezer) diced bell peppers(stirfries, potato O’Brein, pasta, subs.scrambled eggs, omelets and pizza), added green tomatoes (no more for freezer), and basil. I dehydrated the cherry tomatoes (cut in half) that ran us over. We got 2 canteloupe, one watermelon and a red kuri winter squash.
I am trying to have a year’s worth of each item to lower the cost of groceries along with I HATE recalls. I checked with the USDA food plans, we pull eating out money from the grocery budget, still was between Low and Moderate. Goal is to be closer to Thrifty and change when appts are as that’s mostly when we eat out. We don’t eat in the car.
We are having to change how we do some things due to Hubby’s health. He has no feeling in his feet so I had to remove throw rugs that have nap as they cause him balance issues. We have solid wood floors except in the bathroom and laundry room.
We have have had our mortgage (refinanced 3 yrs ago) for 3 years, for 30 years (best rate) we paid off 9 years so far as Aug 31 is when we started the new mortgage. My goal is to have it paid off in 5. Makes things really tight but with Hubby’s health I figure that would be one thing off his mind to worry about.
Stay safe
Prayers for peace
Blessed Be
https://chefowings.blogspot.com/2024/08/from-gardens.html?sc=1725175048709#c2815582346917739391
Such beautiful flowers, as always! And what a cute kid in a cute plane!
I had my sixth baby a month ago, and now that I’m out of the most critical phase of recovery, I’m cloth diapering during the day, and using disposables at night. Most of my diapers I have had since my first, and while the larger-size diaper covers have had to be replaced a few times over the years, the newborn size covers are still working since they are so tiny for such a short time.
Since I have been home recovering and DH had time off to take care of the other kids, we saved on gasoline.
I gave one of my sons a haircut.
I made a second instant pot-full of beans this week to stretch the food dollars further.
I keep the thermostat set high during the day to save on electricity.
Since I was back on my feet I made a bits-and-pieces meal from all the odd little leftover things in the fridge.
Congratulations!
Jojo Loveable
P.O. Box #5.
Vancouver, B.C.
T8P 1P6