I cut roses from the garden to enjoy inside. My vases are from Amazon here.
I attended a free symphony performance from Henderson Symphony. Here are the details for my outfit: the dress is Lauren Ralph Lauren, purchased used via Thred Up during the pandemic (when dresses were selling for extra cheap); the necklace is from Banana Republic Factory, purchased 50% off; the earrings were purchased on sale from Olive and Piper; the purse is from Ross; the bracelet was inherited from my great-grandmother, and I wore heeled sandals purchased 50% off from Old Navy a couple of years ago.
The symphony performed Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
I picked figs from the garden.
I read an e-book from the library, A Lady’s Guide to Fortune Hunting.
I made a curtain for a bathroom using 7/8 of a yard of home decor fabric that I purchased for 40% off at Hobby Lobby. I had a small sheet that had been hanging here for years, but I am having company next week and wanted to have something nicer, so I made this. The window faces a wall, so privacy is not a real issue here, but the sheer curtain cuts the sun a bit in late morning and mid-day.
I sowed seeds in the garden for roselle hibiscus. These are seeds I collected from my own garden.
I also sowed okra seeds. This is my first time attempting to grow okra.
I finally was able to meet up with a woman I had met at a garage sale in April. She had some vintage jewelry to sell but hadn’t brought it to her friend’s house where the sale was. I purchased 15 items from her for $21. Most were brooches, two pieces were broken (I will reuse the faux pearls in new projects), and there was a pair of cufflinks with a touring car from the 1920’s (not a Model T, but similar) which I was able to give as a gift to my father for an early Father’s Day gift. I had no idea how much the woman was going to ask for her pieces, and I usually pay $1 to $2 per piece for costume jewelry at garage sales. I was happy to have her take the same. I knew no matter what, the cufflinks were coming home with me. One small pin I will give as a gift to a friend who also likes vintage pieces.
I picked cherry tomatoes from the garden.
What did you do to save money the last two weeks?
My budget has been very tight this month, but I was able to use Amazon to restock two kinds of lentils, black beans, and brown rice. I bought peanut butter for the first time in years. Kraft is now making pb made with just peanuts and no sugar or salt, so I am very happy with that. I’ve had the supplies I need, and still have $30 left after paying the person who cuts my lawn today, with only a few days before my pension payments start for the coming month.
It was my 70th birthday last week. My friends are tied up with health and family issues, so I had just my cat to celebrate with. I made a nice supper — steelhead trout, zucchini, and oven fries with oregano. I made a small lemon cake with lemon icing. I made a post on a Reddit sub called r/CongratsLikeI’mFive, saying that I would enjoy birthday wishes on my 70th, and there were 900 comments wishing me a happy birthday, and 3500 upvotes on the post. Some sang me happy birthday, some told me stories about their cats and dogs, many had just turned 70 or were about to turn 70. There were people from all over the world commenting. It was a lot of fun. I told my 95 year old aunt about it, who has been in hospital, and she laughed and laughed.
We’ve had several weeks of rain, but it looks like we’ll have some warm sunny weather for a couple of days this weekend.
I love that! Happy Birthday!
Happy birthday and best wishes for a wonderful upcoming year. What a creative way to celebrate.
Elizabeth H.
Happy birthday Elizabeth M
You were clever and inventive and I love that people responded
Best wishes for a wonderful year
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth! 💐💐💐 I appreciated your uplifting story and it sounds like it was a lovely birthday :o)
Happy birthday.
Happy birthday! I love that you got such a great response to your post. Reddit can be awful, but it can also be wonderful sometimes.
I definitely found the happy part of Reddit that day!
So happy that you had a nice birthday in spite of friends being unavailable.
Happy Birthday, Elizabeth🎂🎉💖 I find your life extraordinary 🥰
What a lovely celebration, Elizabeth! Happy belated birthday to you.
Happy Belated Birthday!
I am starting a new food program to lose 5% of my body weight. I want to reduce my chances of becoming pre-diabetic. Now that I am retired, there are no more excuses. This can be a top intention. gamified my plan for fun to minimize any upfront cost. I realize not everyone has my advantages of certain appliance, homegrown food and a pantry I am emptying.
1. The plan itself was researched online. I used Dr. Greger’s daily dozen app which is free to choose foods. I verified how many calories and how many grams macro nutrients I should have using Harvard, Mayo Clinic and Health line to verify. I log it into My FitnessPlan which is free. I am eating. I am 5’6, 187 lbs, and 60 years old. I have a goal 1327 cal a day plan that includes 179 grams of carbs, 29 grams of fat and 85 g. Everybody has an opinion. Mine is this is way too few calories. But I have tried unsuccessfully to lose even a pound for six months with a VERY high level of activity. I am honest about my failure to lose, open minded to expert advice and willing to try it. 2nd day in I feel good. Out of Pocket Cost: $6. ( truthfully I had bought premium My FitPal $6.00 a month but only to remove ads. It was a gift to myself for retiring. Totally not required though to log food.)
2. I qualified for LARK through my health insurance. I received a free scale, an app that links to it and soon a free fitbit. OOP Cost: $0
3. Homemade Greek yogurt: high protein, zero fat. I am using pantry items. I have free almonds from my farmer hubby’s coop, fresh dates. OOP $2.50 1 gallon of Winco nonfat milk.
4. Groat bowl. 10 years ago I bought a bulk 5 pounds each of oat groats, rye, barley. I added white milo hubby grew 5 years ago and lentils from the pantry. I used veggie broth and cooked it in the instapot for 35 mins. have have now seven meals in the freezer. I used 2 eggs on hand lightly fried on top. According to Dr. Greger: Eating more legumes is the number one things I can do to age well. And it is so cost effective.
5. Powders and seasonings. In my pantry I had remnants of these when I was 15 pounds lighter and ate a smoothie a day. I made premix packets so I can dump them in the vitamix: cumin, tumeric, matcha, and powder greens.
6. I am flying to Akron, Ohio tomorrow. I am bringing a collapsible water bottle, almonds, rolled low carb tortilla with spiral ham frozen from Easter and Sam’s club Swiss Cheese, dates, and some fig bars I have in the pantry.
So not a bad start to a new normal with output less than $10.00 for me. I did NOT buy Ozempic for $1200 a month although it is so tempting to think a shot will fix this issue.
Week 1: My fridge needed clearing out from the last few days, so this is what I was able to do. I found 5 pounds of bulk sausage on Flashfood for $1.33/pound on Flashfood so I made 12 sausage patties and flash froze them and cooked the rest up into crumbles! Sausage, egg and biscuit and breakfast burritos are going to be enjoyed for future breakfasts here! 21 cents for each sausage patty, eggs from our chickens and homemade biscuits make a cheap but filling breakfast!
We grilled $4 worth of Flashfood boneless steaks on BBQ which made 4 portions of steak dinner. Added the last of 4 packets from our garlic mashed potato box (40 cents on clearance a while back) and a free can of green beans, we each used $1.05 for our steak dinners! Not bad!
But wait, that’s not all! I was able to take out a ziploc of precooked ground beef, made a red sauce to bind it together, added my leftover green beans and mashed potatoes as layers on top. Sprinkled with cheese and baked in the oven to give us a Shepherd’s pie type dinner for the next night! 🎉🎉
I put my FF stew beef and a small flank steak into my crockpot to make Beef and Noodles for Sunday dinner. It cooked for 10 hour on Low so it was SO tender! I put my dry noodles in instant pot covered with the broth/gravy mixture from crockpot. Set pressure for 0 minutes and 3 minutes quick release and the noodles not only cooked perfectly, but the broth/gravy was absorbed into them! Sent home some of the leftovers with youngest son who was over for dinner.
So our food budget has been able to stay low. We were able to give 3-1/2 dozen eggs to 3 different friends this week (a dozen each to 2 and 1-1/2 dozen to the other.) And we still had enough eggs for our own needs this week. Funny how that happens as we share- we always seem to have enough left over for our own needs.
And early this morning, I found 3- 3.2 pound packages of ground beef on Flashfood for $1.49/pound! I bought 25 packages (75+ pounds) and started making my calls- daughter who works full time and can only shop on Saturdays, young friends who just bought first house and she’s SAHM with 2 kiddos, my best friend with 6 kids and another friend with 3 teens and 1 younger. In all, I kept just over 12 pounds (4 packages and part will be sent home with youngest son and parceled out the rest to 4 other families who were thrilled to buy it for $1.49/pound . Regular sticker price had been $4.49/pound! 😳 What a blessing!!
We used just $3.79 of natural gas this month but with taxes and delivery/transmission fees and a eco-friendly fund that we all are charged, my bill as $52!! 😳😵💫 Almost $50 in fees and taxes! That’s crazy!
Week 2: I got word that Meijers had fresh blueberries on a Friday/ Saturday sale for 99 cents/pint so I bought 2 flats (24 pints). I used $2 store credit and water bath canned them in boiling water in pint jars. They only take 15 minutes to process pints and by using my steam canner, the heating time to get it up to for processing is only a couple minutes! Using 16 pints of blueberries, they filled 23 pint jars to put on my shelf! https://pin.it/Cn4z0AU29 . I kept 1 pint of fresh blueberries to eat from fridge and gave the other 5 pints to my friend with 6 kids.
We were ready to move our upright freezer back into laundry room from dining room, so we borrowed 6 big coolers from friends + our 4 coolers to empty and carefully sort freezer contents according to category (beef, chicken, pork, veg, fruit, grab and go/convenience) . We were then able to move the empty freezer without helpers. After putting in in place, I throughly defrosted and cleaned it while Hubs went to buy storage bins/ baskets from Dollar Tree for inside freezer.. https://pin.it/2HEqTJ8Nv. We are pleased with the result.
Quilted and bound a client’s vintage quilt : https://pin.it/6UrvA1ol6. She was thrilled with results and I was thrilled to add some money to our savings! 😉
We are really trying to hunker down these days with the economy so volatile. It may seem like I’m spending often on things like FF, but in reality, including those purchases, our food budget is under $200/month and that includes stocking up.
Keep inspiring me, Brandy and all your commenters!
Gardenpat in Ohio
The starburst necklace looks beautiful with the red dress!
On the frugal front:
We packed a snacky lunch to enjoy while boating rather than going out for lunch at a lakeside restaurant.
We paid our cabin neighbor for his inexpensive snow plowing service which was even less than usual with our nearly snowless winter.
We paid our auto and home insurance premiums in full to receive a discount.
I took advantage of a “spend $30 on qualifying Amazon groceries get $10 off” deal.
I enjoyed the audiobook The Winners by Fredrick Bachman on the Libby app.
I watched the movie The Boys in the Boat on my free, employer provided, digital TV package (good movie, better book.) We also enjoyed the US Olympic swim and dive trials.
On the way to the cabin, we stopped at Chipotle for dinner. Later, I used the leftover burrito bowls as enchilada filling and served it with lettuce and cilantro harvested from our garden.
I look forward to reading everyone’s frugal feats!
I love Chipotle, I wish they had it in our country. I always got two meals out of it, as the serving sizes are huge!
Brandy, you are made to wear red! Stunning! Love the fabric in the curtain.
Week of June 3
-I continue to clean out the freezer, canning surplus. I canned 5 pints of strawberry syrup.
-We had the 2 youngest grandkids this week for Vacation Bible School (VBS). So we did some things with them like-swim at the local lake, make cookies, can strawberry syrup, sewed a skirt from an old pair of jeans (cutting off the legs and using the top) and a remnant of fabric with my youngest grand daughter, cooked hotdogs over the fire outside, and we made s’mores. We did things that cost little but created memories!
-I canned 7 quarts of hamburger vegetable soup with the rest of the big bag of mixed veggies from Costco (I used half of the bag for my canned chicken pot pie filling). I have 3/4 of a quart left. We will eat that this week.
-I harvested rhubarb and mint and canned 7 half pints of orange rhubarb marmalade and 7 half pints of rhubarb mint syrup. Every little bit helps.
-We had an old fashioned wiener roast and s’mores over the fire on Friday after VBS. My daughter came to pick up the grands and we also invited their grandparents on my son-in-law side. We roasted wieners over the wood fire. I made potato salad, coleslaw, and baked beans. We also had chips and watermelon. And then we sat and visited, there was a nice breeze so the mosquitos were kept at bay.
-I replanted my rutabagas and some beets (they were spotty). I weeded and mulched a bit. I work 15 min and then need to rest. Try to do some each day.
-Still harvesting asparagus. We are eating it fresh and sharing some with friends and family.
-I spent $10 this week on groceries- gallon of milk, 3 tomatoes, a cucumber, and a head of lettuce. Next week will be my monthly big shop and Costco run.
Week of June 10
-I took 11 gallon bags of tomatoes out of the freezer from last year’s garden. This was canned into 7 quarts of Bloody Mary mix (I love to drink this like juice), 8 half pints of taco sauce, 8 quarts of spaghetti sauce, and 4 quarts of tomato sauce.
-Hubby went fishing and brought home 3 bass and a large sunfish. This will make 3 meals of fish for us.
-We emptied the small chest freezer and unplugged it. We will not use this until this fall when we get our beef. So this saves on energy and the other 2 freezers (chest and upright) are now 3/4 full and will run more efficiently.
-Our microwave quit working. We have went a month without one. We don’t use it much but we are missing it. We ordered a low profile one that still goes over my stove but it is much smaller. We ordered it from our local appliance store. I am happy to keep my business local. We also had to replace our air conditioner. This we knew was going to have to be done this spring as they tried to get parts last fall and winter and were unable to. We saved money over the winter and prepaid much it. We are just waiting for the bill to see what we need to additionally pay. Again the business was done with our local plumbing and heating business. With the economy I want businesses to stay in business , we get such great service from local companies that know us! Plus there are perks using local businesses instead of big box stores. Last summer when the air went out, this company installed a window unit for us free of charge so we had air while they were trying to get parts.
-Harvested the last of the asparagus (time to let it fern out), radishes, rhubarb, lettuce, kale, and kolarabi.
-I did my big Costco shop-$250 later but stocked up on many things that will last 4-6 months and I skipped my monthly Azure order. Rest of the month there will be very little spent. Loss leaders if it warrants it (lately they have been paltry) and milk and fruit. We are starting to harvest from the garden that helps as well.
Have a great week
Hi Julie! Would you mind sharing what you like to buy from Azure? I haven’t bought from them in a while, but have beans, flour and a few other things from them. Wondering what else would be good to have on hand. Thanks so much!
Brandy you look lovely and I continue to be in awe of all that you do!
I was able to purchase peppers for.50 cents each and a small bag of oranges for $1.50 on Flash Food. This past week I was able to stock up on dried chick peas, lentils and tomato paste on sale.
Water restrictions continue in Calgary as they found other small breaks in the main pipe. Repairs are estimated to take another month. I have been taking shallow baths and re-using the water to flush the toilet only when required. My husband skipped his shower tonight so every little bit counts. The silver lining is that we should all be saving money on next months water bill.
It has been unseasonably cold here-while many other areas of North America sizzle. I had turned the heat off for the summer but when I woke up Monday morning it was only 59 degrees F and I caved and turned on the heat for awhile.
Tomorrow I will be picking up a good food box at a local church-$40 for 35-40 lbs of produce. I will see what we receive and decide whether it is worthwhile to order monthly.
On Friday Ann and I are hoping to go to the mountains as the weather looks good and it is a free admission day. We will pack a picnic lunch.
At the end of next week, when school lets out, I am flying to Newfoundland for a week. I am hoping for an iceberg, whale and puffin watching extravaganza. I figure while health and finances permit now is the time to travel. Bonus DH prefers not to travel- so there is extra in the budget for me. Although he and our daughter are going to the US to visit his relatives in August. While they are away I will be doing a home exchange on Vancouver Island-such a cheap way to travel! Since travel is my passion I don’t mind working PT in retirement and being careful with our daily budget. Best wishes to all for a frugal week ahead.
Isn’t this weather crazy! Although they are certainly overdoing the hype about the heat dome here in Toronto! You’d think we never have Summer. It started on Monday and yes it has been hot but the only time I’d have called it overwhelming was Wed. afternoon when the sun was strong and the humidity was high. The rest of the week we’ve had storms almost every night that has cleared the air and cooled everything down overnight. When I’ve headed into the office each morning there has been a lovely breeze. I left the office at 2pm today and the breeze was cool and the sky clear so I even went for a walk – and I’m someone who hates the heat and humidity! By next week it is supposed to be back down to about 25C – perfectly normal for this time of year – although I won’t mind if we get a few days of your cooler weather. I hope that you and Ann have a wonderful day out!
Hi Margie! Talk about hype! I just read an article that was so overblown about Washington DC hitting 100 degrees (which it hadn’t done on that day since…wait for it…2016🤣🤣🤣 not 1916 or 1816, just a mere 8 years ago🤣🤣🤣). Every storm we have, every hot day, every cold day, every wind is hyped up like this to make it seem extreme when it is normal if you account for natural differences between years. Jeepers, you would think they forgot what summer is! Our biggest issue has been lack of rain, which I have had to solve with the sprinkler once in a while (😬 $$$$ water bill, but I am not willing to lose my garden). I know there is crazy extreme weather, but my personal opinion is that it’s because they are playing God with the weather and much of this is the result. We did get quite a rainstorm last night. Makes me grateful for it. I can’t imagine living where Brandy lives. I feel more alive after a good rain and cool down. So does my garden☺️
Gorgeous flowers, gorgeous curtain, gorgeous dress (I love how comfy Ralph Lauren dresses are. I have one I bought in Vegas on sale from an outlet nearly a decade ago, and I still wear it everywhere), and gorgeous you!
My frugal accomplishments:
– I borrowed my mother’s griddle to make a batch of Sour Milk Toaster Pancakes (https://approachingfood.com/sour-milk-toaster-pancakes/) for quick breakfasts on school mornings.
– I cashed out money from field agent.
– I got a free birthday drink from Starbucks (the largest possible size of course!)
– my mum re-used birthday decorations to throw a family party for me with my kids. After the get-together, I took down the decorations to re-use another time.
– my youngest enjoyed free face painting and live music at a popular market in a local park, and then we joined a friend at her tenant association BBQ. I gave my friend a full-size cat treat product that I had gotten free with a coupon, and she gave me an insulated lunch-bag that she couldn’t use. A full day of fun, at no cost OOP!
– as always, I try to use up leftovers. I made bean salad; when it was mostly gone, I added another can of mixed beans, and it was a slightly new version of the bean salad. When that was mostly eaten, I took the leftover bean salad, which was heavy on the vinaigrette, and added crumbled feta (purchased on sale with a coupon a few weeks ago), cooked pasta, and leftover veggies, and made a new pasta salad. No waste, not even the vinaigrette, plus no one got tired of eating the exact same dish over and over.
– as usual, I pack snacks and water bottles whenever we go anywhere. Snacks include homemade uncrustables, veggies and fruit (whatever is on sale that week), and homemade snacks such as mini muffins, mini pizza buns, and cookies, etc.
– I made rice krispie style treats using cheerio cereal on sale for $2/box, as opposed to the more expensive rice krispies, plus marshmallows leftover from the winter, and plant butter (cheaper than regular butter). I added chocolate eggs leftover from Easter that I don’t like (otherwise, they’d have been eaten asap!). Made enough for my daughters, and their friends, as much as anyone wanted, three days in a row, and there is still some left. I think I might try making mini popcorn balls next time; I think it’d be similarly inexpensive, and also crunchy, which my eldest likes.
– I’ve been able to stay within my grocery budget goal really well lately (having to significantly reduce buying diapers helps a lot!), and I was even able to tell a friend about how to price-match. I love sharing how to get the best value from our hard-earned money!
– I coaxed my broken blender along a few more weeks, by hand-washing it (and holding it together while doing so!). I ended up buying a new one, but that coaxing along allowed me to wait until I found a coupon code to use.
– I only use half a dryer sheet with each load. I never used to use any, but with my 15 year old machine, I start to need to as the lint isn’t being removed well any more. But half a sheet works great!
Looking forward to learning from everyone else, as always!
Roasted okra is marvelous!
How do you roast okra?
1. Got my hair cut at the local beauty school. M thru W is 10% senior discount, so I went on a Tuesday. A cut, wash, and blow dry was $10.80. I gave the student a $3.00 tip.
2. The handle on my car door broke. Hubby checked into the repair & it is covered in a Hyundai recall. Made an appointment to drop it off at the dealership.
3. Turned a curb picked pair of white capris into Bermuda shorts.
4. Booked a vacay using hotel points.
5. Using my Panera Sip Club daily for cold drinks. Yes, I pay a subscription yearly for the Sip Club. However, I use it almost daily & it pays for itself. Panera has a new Hibiscus Pomegranate tea that is caffeine & sugar free. It is a delicious iced drink in the hot Texas summer. My little luxury.
We have the sip Panera membership also, we live close and can get a large drink 33 oz every 2 hours so it definitely pays for itself
I’m so pleased for your vintage jewelry finds, garden bounty, and bathroom curtain refresh! What joy! And you look so pretty in that red dress! As to frugal accomplishments, to protect my arms from sunburn in the garden, I cut some old stretch knit pants to make sleeves to go over them. They work! I almost ordered some online but this was free. I made wacky zucchini cake (combining last year’s frozen zucchini plus some fresh from this year’s harvest) for my neighbor who gifted me some cucumber plants and zinnias. He said it was so good I can make it for him any time! I’ve been hanging laundry on the clothesline and my sheets and towels smell lovely! I also try to bake and use the washing machine during super off peak time which changed from the winter schedule this month. It was time for new sneakers so I checked online for discount coupons for a pair I was ordering and sure enough, I found one that was for $30 off so that was a nice surprise. I attended a free butter and jam making class at our public library with a friend just for fun. Thank you everyone for your comments and money saving accomplishments, so inspiring!
Hello, it’s good to see you writing again. The pictures are lovely. I really felt envious when I looked at the roses and tomatoes. I wrote down a few things I was blessed with this week. One day when I was bored I read a few old blogs and people’s comments, and I want to thank Chris from the UK for recommending https://www.allotment-garden.org. for the source for a Christmas pudding recipe. I found it to be a nice gardening site, also. This week I found a Pfaff sewing machine for $20 on Craigslist that I’m going to clean and give to a new sewer who has no sewing machine. On the way home we stopped at a couple of yard sales even though we had no cash with us. One seller said she would hold four, $2, wrought iron flower baskets until we got back from the bank a few blocks away, but when we returned, she had just sold them. My husband did find a gift for one of our children that we plan to give for Christmas. Then we stopped at a small museum. It turned out to be very interesting, and because I guessed that an odd looking tool was a doughnut cutter and another container was designed to be used to hold moth balls, I was given two books, both new, as prizes. One book will be a nice Christmas gift for someone. I am not finding a lot of specials on food, but I did find olives for 99 cents per can at WinCo. Fred Meyer (Kroger) had Imperial margarine for 99 cents per pound package, if one bought six. It freezes well. The usual price now here is $1.49, and it hasn’t been on sale for a while. I found six large red sweet peppers on the produce clearance shelves at Freddie’s for two dollars for the two mesh bags today. That makes each pepper $.33. The peppers are just starting to wilt slightly, so I re-cut the stems on them and submerged them in cold water to see if they revive. They are nice enough to eat as is, but I will probably dehydrate some of them for use in casseroles and soup. There is a vegetable soup recipe at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bczzTKde8Dg that I have probably mentioned before that I really like that uses peppers. When I was making a salad at my daughter’s house, she told me all the lettuce she had was a wilting head of romaine that I would probably have to throw out. I was going into shredded carrot with pineapple chunks with juice, raisins, and unsweetened coconut flakes salad mode when I saw this gorgeous, huge head of lettuce that I didn’t want to go to waste. I cut the growing end, washed all of the lettuce and put it in a bowl to soak. It revived amazingly well, so well that we used it for salads and sandwiches all week. I had time for the lettuce to soak because I started lunch while we were cooking breakfast. It was nice to be able to use residual heat from a burner that cooked cereal and the oven still hot. I switched into high speed and concocted a casserole in about fifteen minutes. She was pleased to not worry about lunch and invited her in-laws next door to eat with us. We enjoyed a nice visit over meatless meatloaf that used up some homemade bread that was beginning to get dry, vegetables, and a lovely romaine lettuce salad. After we got home we ate Fruit Salad for Two one night with some popcorn. One medium Golden Delicious apple, one banana, half dozen strawberries, and one drained can of mandarin oranges cut up and mixed together made two cereal bowl-sized servings for the two of us. I wished I had made some of your lemon poppy seed muffins, but I was just too tired. I should make some and keep them in the freezer or fix up a mix like GardenPat is famous for. Thank you for providing a nice space to share ideas. I hope to learn more things this week.
What a wonderful deal on a sewing machine. I have a friend looking for one. I will have to remember to look there and on Facebook Marketplace.
It’s interesting that a sewing table (partially broken) was shown in a listing in the “free stuff” on Craigslist. The picture showed this sewing machine, on the table, so I wrote to the owner and asked if they were selling the sewing machine, and they wrote back to say they wanted $20 for it, if I could come to their estate sale, I might be able to buy it. I live a long way and didn’t want to expend the gas on a chance that they might still have the sewing machine; plus, I had an appointment for the day of the sale. So I wrote back with my dilemma and told why I wanted the machine and who would end up with the machine. They said they would love for that person to get their grandmother’s machine and saved it for me. I was thrilled. I have been trying to find a good used machine in a price range I could afford without success. I never dreamed I would find one for $20. I consider that a real blessing. I will be able to pay to have it serviced now. I am told a certain repair place has a basement of old sewing machines they cannibalize for parts, so I’m hoping they have a case. One repair place told me some years back that Pfaff does not stock parts for these older machines. Who knows. but I am just so thankful.
I have just come back from France were we have spent the last 6 weeks. This is not frugal but we save money all year to do this. We used to go for 3 months before brexit. We hire a static caravan but use hotels to travel back and forth so the six weeks cost us about £3,000 excluding food which I cooked from scratch and bought groceries from Aldi. We bought food from the supermarkets and ate in our hotel rooms on the journey .We used some national routes instead of autoroutes to save money. One hotel had breakfast included. I used Accor hotels and get one room free.
Unfortunately I had food poisoning on the way home so I was glad I had ready home cooked food in the freezer.
Some produce is now very expensive in france, 7 euros for a small chicken 5 euros for a cauliflower, 12 euros for a bottle of olive oil ,. 12 euros a kilo for cherries .Needless to say I didn’t buy them. I got a few bargains 30% off a tarte flambie and 50% offa tarte au pomme.
I bought a plastic table cloth and 2 shopping baskets both are cheaper there than in England .
I have 2 baskets I bought in france 20 years ago and they are beginning to ware out.
I left my garden fully planted as I have done for many years but when we returned I found all the peas, beans, carrots and beetroot had been eaten by the slugs and snails so I have spent this week resowing.
Keep safe everyone
Chris
Hi Brandy and everyone
You look lovely in your red dress, how nice to attend a free concert. Great buys on the costume jewellery and lucky to find the perfect cufflinks for your Dad.
We had good fortune recently in several ways. My husband bought a raffle ticket for a charity fundraiser and won a Tower air fryer. When energy prices rocketed we had debated whether to buy one and decided not to. However since receiving this I am happy with the results, still experimenting to make best use of it. A consumer magazine report I read online stated that air fryers do cut energy costs considerably so hope we see that! I won a flower arrangement in the raffle at my floral group. The mechanics of the arrangement can be saved and used again.
A friend gave me a new pelargonium plant with very delicate flowers.
We received an unexpected refund cheque for nearly £200 from our insurance
company. They had spotted a small overcharge which had persisted for many years (we had no idea) and refunded us plus interest.
Another unrelated insurance matter- when the renewal quote for our house, cars,life etc came in it was eye watering. My husband spent a long time shopping around but couldn’t find anything to significantly beat it with the same cover. We went through together and amended some of the categories and decided to remove some altogether due to our age,changed circumstances, no dependents etc. This saved £750 and we still have good cover. My husband used to work in insurance so he was very careful in the cuts we made.
I cut my own fringe.
I have started making elderflower cordial and cut/ picked raspberries, lettuce, a few strawberries, roses and Sweet William from the garden. My floral group had a sales table as a fundraiser, I took along a big bunch of Sweet William and several nepeta and lupin plants my husband grew. I am careful not to buy anything to bring home!
We received an estimate for some work we want done in the house that we can’t do ourselves. As ever we were shocked at the total! We went through and amended part of the work which will save a couple of hundred pounds and went back to the builder to ask if there are ways to save more. He agreed to look at it again. It can’t hurt to ask.
I used coupons to save money on the grocery shop in Lidl and used coupons for free items to put in the food bank.
I bought some Christmas fabric for £1 in the charity shop and an orchid reduced from £23 to £8 on the ‘ needs TLC’ stand at the garden centre. I’ve had great buys from this stand in the past.
Stay safe everyone.
Lovely outfit for the symphony, particulary the necklace. I like the photos of the assorted vases/bottles with roses, what a pretty arrangement.
Food has consisted of toast, oats, fruit, yoghurt, sandwiches, avocado, omlettes (with sweet potato, tomato and red onion) and a risotto of pumpkin, vegetables and chorizo (I made a huge batch, knowing it would be a busy week).
Groceries for the fortnight were $39. I will need to buy more milk and bread though as we will run out.
We have been riding our bicycles everywhere, reading library books and watching library DVD’s (no subscription television services ar out house).
I bought some compression travel bags for $10, for our upcoming France move. Acknowledging that our whole life will not fit into two medium suitcases – but it will have to do. Anything we can’t take we will get when we are there. However, I do not anticipate needing much on arrival, besides toiletries and groceries. Our residence is fully furnished. Then I will try to find second hand bicycles, helmets and a football (called a soccerball here!). The children will be bringing Lego and metal cars. I will also purchase some art supplies. Which reminds me, I need to check whether the childrens school supplies books, pencils etc and if not, what is required. I vaguely remember reading (in French) that I can engage the parent association to help. Need to add this to the to-do list.
Ski gear for the upcoming French ski season has been finalised. Some items were purchased from marketplace and others from Aldi. I was also given six items. The thermals, scarves, jackets and socks can be used outside of skiing, during the winter months. We will each wear a coat and bulky shoes on the plane, to save precious luggage space.
I also need to look at football (soccer) sign up, equestrian and squad to see where they are located and the fees. Hopefully they are close to our residence or accessible by train, metro or bus.
The children are excited to see the Despicable Me 4 movie during the upcoming school holidays. This is a treat, as we normally don’t go to the cinema. But we do frequent the theatre. I also have tickets to take them to Disney on Ice and we will attend a festival with free lunch, drinks, desserts, fruit, rock climbing, petting zoo, infltable bouncy houses etc. So those three activities will be very much appreciated by the children. Outside of that, they will be playing with the neighbourhood children, cooking, art and craft, riding bicycles and scooters. We will also ride to a few local parks with playgrounds and pump tracks.
Have a great week.
We are doing the regular things. Eat the left overs, only spend money on what is needed, and free activities. One night I was putting the kids to bed and waiting on one child I was looking at our board games. I got the idea this summer for them to play one game a day. That way we find out which games the kids have outgrown and the kids have something fun and different to do each day.
On a business trip we got the chance to go to Grissom Air Museum in Indiana. My husband loved it and I was pleasantly surprised how much fun I had. We also drove around University of Notre Dame campus.
We got together with a group of friends for a cookout. It was to celebrate my SIL birthday. Everyone brought their own chair and meat. The host family served us bake potato bar. The kids and adults who wanted to participated in kick ball and soccer and corn hole toss. Everyone one else sat around talking catching up. As Brandy said a few weeks ago, it is lovely to have friends who like to gather and share time together in each other’s homes.
The garden is coming in nicely. Thank you to everyone who suggested adding more compost. It seems to be doing the trip for the lack of blossoms on the green bean and tomato plants.
A beautiful elegant outfit Brandy! And a treat to hear live music, and especially that symphony.
This week I made £20 doing a survey. We also have another Airbnb guest booked for August. There is a big music festival over August bank holiday near us and five different sets of people have booked to stay with us that weekend so I will remember that for next year and keep it as a ‘working weekend’ for us.
I made mint rocky road bars with free biscuits and marshmallows and gave some to my partners uncle who is undergoing cancer treatment.
Frugal fail-I listed my Chalet school books for sale but couldn’t bring myself to sell them! I love reading them intermittently. Does anyone else remember this series by Elinor Brent Dyer (UK only people I suspect)?!
I picked up a new Cath Kidston bed cover that a kind lady was giving away. It will look lovely as a bed spread.
I used a supermarket voucher to buy groceries so spent no money out of hand.
Sun is here today so washing on line and ten mins getting vitamin D.
Sending good wishes to all!
I learned about this book series and enjoy them as an adult in the U.S., even though they would be considered children’s books. I understand that you did not discard yours! Did you know there is a small publisher in England (Girl’s Gone By Publishers) that reprints Elinor Brent Dyer along with similar authors of gentle books?
I did! Thank you so much Karen. I have many of them! No, I couldn’t bring myself to sell them!
Read all the Challet School books, a few years ago we were in Switzerland and went for a sail on the ferries, something I had wanted to do since I read the books as a child.
How wonderful Moira! I would love to go to Austrian Tirol and the relevant Swiss regions! On bucket list!
I really liked the fit of the Land’s End clothes I bought for 50% off plus free shipping that I ordered
a second pair of shorts also on sale, plus a pair of slippers (usually 80 for $20). I am going to use the
shorts as a pattern to make long pants (when I resume sewing on a cold winter’s day).
I phoned the nursery I ordered 2 roses from. One is thriving but the other promptly died.
Apparently there was a problem with the one rose so I received a credit for it. I used the credit partly for a pair of gardening gloves. The balance I will use for next year’s gardening.
We still have a total outdoors watering ban. More problems were discovered with the feeder water main that broke so restrictions will continue
for 3 or 4 more weeks. I put out more buckets and bins to catch rainwater. Before the rain, I used leftover water for watering but only a few needed it. I ordered two more plants on sale. We had a couple of days of wonderful rain which saved the annuals. We had the possibility of a frost last night and there’ll be frost warning again tonight so I covered the tomatoes and several pots. I ordered three more plants – two perennials plus a rose, all reduced in price. One of the perennials is a Siberian cypress (which looks like a ground level juniper). I have one that is about 30 years old and it is exceptionally hardy and drought tolerant. I’ve been looking for one for years.
I also bought a very small American wild plum. This is to ensure pollination for my other plum tree. It was $6.95 (and is small).
Our local rock garden society had its annual plant sale. I did not attend but one of the growers brought several plants over to me. He gave me a deal. I do not usually buy so many plants but for several years I have been establishing a scree garden on the hot sunny city boulevard. It is a difficult area as a lot of dogs pass by and destroy the grass plus the intense sun makes it water intensive for the grass. So to eliminate the need for mowing and watering the grass, I started a scree garden with drought resistant plants. I am trying to fill it in a bit this year. I use 10 mm
rock chips. They are angular and tend to interlock together so don’t roll off the small slope. Also it is the same size as
what is used in playgrounds so is safer in case someone did fall on it. Most people when they see there’s a flower bed control their dogs
so it has cut down on destruction by dogs. A small strip of lawn has been left for the dogs.
Most of the yard is well-shaded and some of the grass has been replaced naturally by clover which I love and elsewhere it is replaced by moss.
So there will not be a lot of mowing or watering.
I am planting carrots from seed and some seed potatoes. I am not counting this year on my own veggies but we’ll see.
I did plant a columnar apple tree. It will take three or four years to produce but will be a nice addition to the edible fruit.
After this year, I should not need to buy any more perennial plants. And I am cutting back on the number of annuals that I buy.
Our park society won a heritage award for its book. It is almost sold out. Our article is almost ready to be printed as a monograph. It will be donated to libraries which previously received donated copies of the book.
I really liked the fit of the Land’s End clothes I bought for 50% off plus free shipping that I ordered
a second pair of shorts also on sale, plus a pair of slippers (usually 80 for $20). I am going to use the
shorts as a pattern to make long pants (when I resume sewing on a cold winter’s day).
I phoned the nursery I ordered 2 roses from. One is thriving but the other promptly died.
Apparently there was a problem with the one rose so I received a credit for it. I used the credit partly for a pair of gardening gloves. The balance I will use for next year’s gardening.
We still have a total outdoors watering ban. More problems were discovered with the feeder water main that broke so restrictions will continue
for 3 or 4 more weeks. I put out more buckets and bins to catch rainwater. Before the rain, I used leftover water for watering but only a few needed it. I ordered two more plants on sale. We had a couple of days of wonderful rain which saved the annuals. We had the possibility of a frost last night and there’ll be frost warning again tonight so I covered the tomatoes and several pots. I ordered three more plants – two perennials plus a rose, all reduced in price. One of the perennials is a Siberian cypress (which looks like a ground level juniper). I have one that is about 30 years old and it is exceptionally hardy and drought tolerant. I’ve been looking for one for years.
I also bought a very small American wild plum. This is to ensure pollination for my other plum tree. It was $6.95 (and is small).
Our local rock garden society had its annual plant sale. I did not attend but one of the growers brought several plants over to me. He gave me a deal. I do not usually buy so many plants but for several years I have been establishing a scree garden on the hot sunny city boulevard. It is a difficult area as a lot of dogs pass by and destroy the grass plus the intense sun makes it water intensive for the grass. So to eliminate the need for mowing and watering the grass, I started a scree garden with drought resistant plants. I am trying to fill it in a bit this year. I use 10 mm
rock chips. They are angular and tend to interlock together so don’t roll off the small slope. Also it is the same size as
what is used in playgrounds so is safer in case someone did fall on it. Most people when they see there’s a flower bed control their dogs
so it has cut down on destruction by dogs. A small strip of lawn has been left for the dogs.
Most of the yard is well-shaded and some of the grass has been replaced naturally by clover which I love and elsewhere it is replaced by moss.
So there will not be a lot of mowing or watering.
I am planting carrots from seed and some seed potatoes. I am not counting this year on my own veggies but we’ll see.
I did plant a columnar apple tree. It will take three or four years to produce but will be a nice addition to the edible fruit.
After this year, I should not need to buy any more perennial plants. And I am cutting back on the number of annuals that I buy.
Our park society won a heritage award for its book. It is almost sold out. Our article is almost ready to be printed as a monograph. It will be donated to libraries which previously received donated copies of the book.
Brandy,
You looked great for the symphony! The Lauren Ralph Lauren dress is spectacular as are the lovely accessories.
très chic!
Brandy, I loved reading your post and gazing at your photos as always. A heads up about the okra. I suspect it will grow well there as it likes hot weather. It is just like zucchini though – one day you’re like “Oh there’s a beautiful flower” and then two days later there’s a 10 inch okra! Pick small, that’s when they’re tender. Spicy Pickled Okra is delicious as is okra dipped in corn meal and sauteed in oil. Best of luck! Holly
You look so beautiful. Red is your color. We grew okra this year for the first time too. So far we have picked 3 pods. Considering we only have 5 plants, not bad. We have been picking zucchini, squash, cucumbers, bell peppers, banana peppers and picked our first 3 tomatoes. Our juicing tomatoes should be ready to pick by next week as several are turning. We celebrated Father’s Day at my stepdaughters with a meal and games. I have started working from home this week and so far I like it. Monday was a little hectic, but so far so good.
>Purchased tube squeezers from Amazon for several tubes that were nearly empty. Made it easy to get the last bits out and delay another purchase.
>Used leftover roasted sweet and russet potatoes along with leftover green beans to make three more meals using the remainder of chicken, then switching to sausage for the last two meals. Added onions, peppers and mushrooms that I had prechopped earlier. I really liked the results.
>Made Tamale Pie for the first time using homemade enchilada sauce. The recipe made more sauce than I needed, so I froze the rest. Very tasty.
>Open the windows early in the morning to cool down the house then close them when the temps get up to 70 degrees. Saves some on air conditioning.
>Use dishwasher at night when energy costs are less.
>Gave my 2-year-old granddaughter an old makeup brush and asked her to “paint” the patio with water from her water table. She was busy for almost an hour.
Beautiful dress! I am currently rereading all of your blog posts to make notes on way to save more money. We have paid off three bills. We will have two more paid off the end of this month with the extra money I have earned from teaching summer school. We are upgrading our house by adding a deck and new porch, a new sidewalk, painting the exterior, and adding shutters. The work is being done by my husband and myself, so no cost for labor. We buy some material each week and hopefully will have the deck and porch finished in a couple of weeks. We did have a friend bring his small tractor over to dig up our old concrete sidewalk so we can get ready to put in the new one. I am cooking most meals at home, taking meals to work, and decided this week to stop buying canned soda to take to work each day. I have a 40 oz cup that I fill with ice and drink from it all day at work. We are cutting every corner we can to put more money into upgrades and paying off debt. I have become very lazy in watching prices at the grocery store and it’s reflecting in our budget. It’s just the two of us now and I have doubled the amount I spend on groceries because of two things: I don’t have a dedicated day to shop with a list, and I don’t compare prices as I have always done. I have found myself stopping at the store almost every day on my way home from work, and it’s hitting the wallet pretty hard! Frugal journeys take detours and I definitely have to get back on the frugal path when it comes to food shopping!
So happy you were able to find such appropriate cufflinks for your Dad, at a bargain price. Last week, I harvested chard, broccoli, basil, oregano, onions, cabbage, the last of the lettuce, two cucumbers, and some blackberries and mulberries. I saw the first tomato, eggplant and asian cucumbers, which is always exciting. As it won’t be much longer before we harvest our garlic, I gathered all but one string of last year’s from storage, and began dehydrating it. The house has been quite fragrant! The Japanese beetles have begun their emergence. I managed to collect them one morning, and fed them to the chickens.
Your photographs continue to be stunning and inspiring. You look so lovely in your symphony attire! I’m glad you got to attend. I also love your new curtain. Great solution! * So, I’ve been an empty nester for about a month. Boy, did this unexpectedly knock me on my seat. The blues took over something fierce. Having children at home for 33 years has been so wonderful and my identity has mainly been of a wife and mother. I’ve loved every minute (well, most minutes, anyway). Now the kid-at-home stage is over (motherhood is never over) and I need to figure out a new focus. Still love caring for my home and Sweetie, and being a granny is fabulous, but I’m desperately trying to not smother my recently launched kid! It’s hard! I’ve really been praying and thinking on how to navigate this new stage in my life. I’ve decided to focus more on things I enjoy and in finding more ways to be useful in the world. None of this has cost any money! I have been spending a bit more time in prayer and studying scriptures and other uplifting materials. I made a list of friends I can text or call to catch up with more. I got out some old Overeater’s Anonymous materials and have refreshed myself on that (so I’m not eating all my sad feelings anymore). I love to write, so started writing a story. I got some more library books and have been reading a little longer than before. I looked at the fabric and yarn that I have on hand and have planned some new projects for gifts and donations. I spent a little more time on menu planning so that Sweetie and I can have a little nicer and more nutritious meals. I’ve been trying to make those meals with more intention and care. I’ve done a little more housework to make home a nicer place to spend time. Anyway, my point is…none of these things cost money, just time and intention and focus. And they are helping me cope with the big change that has taken place. After launching four other children successfully, I never dreamed the last one would affect be so much. But, I guess before I always had someone still at home. I’m so pleased for my son – this is a big deal that he has ventured out into the world. I’m praying for him and letting him fly. * Our grocery budget is almost $50 a week less now with our son living elsewhere! I have used some of that money to even out our food storage. I continue to menu plan and do grocery pickup, which helps me not overspend. *For Father’s Day, my husband requested spaghetti dinner with my homemade sauce. I made a regular-size batch and was able to have two complete meals of it, plus froze some sauce for future quick meals. I love having leftovers in the freezer for when my body isn’t cooperating due to a fibromyalgia and/or arthritis flare up. * I found out two of my favorite cozy mystery series have books I hadn’t read. I love Betty Hechtmann’s crochet mystery series and Carlene O’Connor’s Irish village mysteries. I was thankful my library had all four of the books! *I’m staying home most days which saves a lot of gas. * My husband is really good at checking the weather and managing the temp in the house. The second story can get really hot. We love to have the windows open and just use fans when we can, but he can’t sleep if it’s too hot, so he uses the A/C strategically. Much less expensive than just having the A/C run continually. I’m so thankful for his efforts. It’s hot here in MN, but the news says there is a heat dome out west. I’m concerned for all of you who live there! Stay cool as best you can and I hope everyone has a lovely and thrifty week.
Such pretty flowers, they make ne sneeze with just a picture, lol.
Last couple of weeks have been a real exercise in spending as little as possible, even though we seem to run out of everything in the process.
Hubby finally got some work, he spent two days on a job a couple of hours away. I packed him and the boy stuff to survive overnight staying in the truck, but it ended up being two of the hottest days we’ve had so far, so they had to sleep in a hotel. I found the cheapest one possible, still $87, but it offered breakfast, so they didn’t have to hit up a restaurant for that. He said from now on, he’ll factor having to stay somewhere in his job bids from now on if they are far away and multiple days.
Leftover cooked fettuccine became what my husband calls fried spaghetti for dinner one night.
Made 15 cups chicken stock with some of the chicken carcasses in the freezer. I still have more I need to make. I ended up with a quart bag of shredded chicken to use later also.
Canceled hubby’s Panera Sip Club. We still have it until July, so when I’m running errands, I stop by for a drink.
Started really decluttering the house. I cleaned out one tub from my closet and it was a perfect size to hold some really old, big platters. I wrapped them in foam sheets I brought home from work.
Listed stuff on marketplace. Already made $50.
Teen cleaned out a trash bag of clothes. I gave those away for free.
Listed several things on free sites
Checked out books from the library
I got one of those Raid light traps free after rebate last year. The glue boards are expensive. I found 12 sticky traps for $10 on Amazon instead if just $10 for 2 at Walmart.
Used points to get a free Starbucks drink
Got a free after rebate Lego flower on Top Cash Back. I’ll save it as a graduation present for the teen.
The school sent out an email that we don’t have to pay for cap and gowns, so that’ll save $
The teen volunteered to cook Fathers day dinner. There was steak, garlic parmesan baby potatoes, and stove top stuffing (his request, lol). I did pick up Father’s Day donuts from Krispy Kreme. Not sure if it was much cheaper than going out, but he enjoyed it. We will eat out on his birthday coming up this Sunday.
I used some of the money I made on Marketplace to get a dog park membership for the puppy.
Your flowers look lovely.
Week of June 3-9 – Made rhubarb crisp twice, homemade baked beans (with homegrown navy beans), macaroni salad, big green salad, and a large BBQ.
Purchased 1/4 pound of swiss chard seeds, in bulk, from the local nursery and seed store. Went on Wednesday, when the store gives an additional 10% off.
Planted green beans, a second planting of snow peas. Planted beets, onions, chard, corn and cucumbers. Transplanted lettuce, tomatoes (8 different kinds), peppers (10 different kinds, including hot and sweet), eggplant and rosemary.
Clipped oregano and dried 10 trays of oregano 3 times.
Washed all bedding and dried on clothesline.
Week of June 10-16 – Dried 10 trays of oregano – 3 times. DH picked up 5 free 5-gallon buckets with lids. Just had to clean them out.
Had my annual physical and mammogram. Both paid for by insurance. Dr. gave me enough samples of medication for a one-month supply.
Picked and cleaned 1 gallon of loose-leaf lettuce. First harvest other than perennial plants (oregano, rhubarb and chives). Planted an additional 18 tomatoes in the pots in the back of our house. Planted the basil and cantaloupe plants given to us by a friend. Mowed the front lawn.
We knew we were going to Seattle for the weekend, so purchased a chicken from Costco for dinners . Made chicken quesadillas for dinner a couple of times.
While in Seattle to visit out son, we went to a Seattle Mariner game. The tickets were free from my son’s sister-in-law. We had a wonderful time. The hotel served breakfast in the lobby of the hotel, so breakfasts were free. We took snacks and drinks for on the road.
Hope everyone has a wonderful week.
My sister just dropped off some free range eggs for me this morning for $4 a dozen. The cheapest eggs I can buy here at the drugstore are $3.79 a dozen. I am happy to pay 21 cents more for better quality and to support a local farmer-my nephew!!
I also picked up my Good Food box this morning-40 lbs for $40 .We received pineapple, butternut squash, onions, potatoes, green onions, lettuce, celery, garlic, beets, 2 containers of grape tomatoes, 2 bags of oranges, a bag of apples, 2 large lemons, radishes, English cucumber, carrots and 2 cabbages- which is a great value here. All nice and fresh and I am sure it will last the 2 of us at least 2 weeks. I estimated it would have cost me $56 to buy this at the local grocery store. Worth looking into whether your community has a similar program-the savings come mainly from bulk buying I think. There are no income requirements for the program.
My middle son and I went to Texas for him to participate in a research study at a university there. They paid for our flights, rental car, hotel, all food, activities, and baggage and parking fees. He’s been a participant for 6 years now and this is his last year. He asked if his two brothers could come as well. I found reasonably priced plane tickets and knew I would need to pay for the activities and food for them. We were able to do it on a budget and several things I paid on-line in advance and saved a few dollars. It was not as relaxing as trip for me having all my sons there, but it was fun for them and they made great memories.
I’ve been careful to stay OUT of the grocery store lately unless I must have fresh produce. I’m hitting up the discount grocery in the next town more often and purchasing clearance produce and meat. Last time I bought zucchini, apricots (10 for $1!), celery, tomatoes (mix of roma and vine ripened) and jalapeno peppers. All were under $1 each. I also got a package of a good quality boneless skinless chicken breasts and two pieces of a thin sliced shortrib that is favored for grilling here sometimes called Flanken Steak. A lot of Asians like this cut for hibachi cooking. I’ve been very careful to go over what we have before I get in an Amazon Subscribe and Save order each month, assuring that we actually need what is being shipped. I was able to reduce my order by half this month, all because I checked my supplies. I confess that last year, I simply got whatever was coming and put it in stock. For the past three months, I have stuck to my grocery budget. This is major but it’s meant a LOT of using what I have, being careful not to waste, and being satisfied with what I can get for reasonable prices. I’ve been more creative in cooking and tried new recipes but never anything that doesn’t use exactly what I have on hand already. If I will have to buy an ingredient for a recipe, it doesn’t get made. If I later find an ingredient for sale cheaply enough, I’ll consider making the recipe later.
Next month we’re facing a good-sized increase in our insurance for our cars. We’ve now reached the age where age is again a consideration and though we have terrific driving records we can expect to see our costs increase. I’ve juggled the budget to accommodate the extra spending, borrowing from this and that to cover the additional amount. We should see a substantial increase in electricity now that it’s so much warmer outdoors. And of course, summer costs for gasoline are higher. We make a huge savings because my husband mows our lawn (about 3 acres) himself, but it takes extra gasoline for that and right now we have to mow every six days. He also mows our son’s two-acre lawn so his kids can play in the yard, so that’s a bit extra.
This week feels splurge-y but it was planned for. We had a little extra set aside for groceries, and entertainment, and set aside a portion of our allowance. Our 18-year-old granddaughter that we haven’t seen in 17 years flew in to visit with us for three days. We took her and her best friend to some local places, to visit family, and bought souvenirs to carry back with them. They leave on Friday morning in the wee hours. We’re trying to make the best of these three days with her. We can tighten our belts after this and make do.
Brandy – you look lovely in your beautiful red dress! So good to read that you had a wonderful evening. And what a good deal on the jewelry! A friend recently gave me a bag full of costume jewelry that she had received from various relatives and which she did not want to deal with. I’ve given a few pieces to various friends and I’ve earmarked a few other pieces for my great nieces when I see them later in the Summer. There are a number of brooches of little animals and birds – all in silver with pearls so appropriate for younger girls.
I have only shopped for a minimal amount of groceries to use right now – fruit & veg & dairy. My other purchases have been cans and packages for the general pantry and a few additional items for my baking pantry. I’ve also continued to use up items in my freezer and from my pantry so that food is properly rotated. I’ve made chili (combined pre-cooked ground beef from the freezer along with a can of Stagg chili from the pantry – made a number of meals). Made HM pizza to use up a lot of odds and ends in the fridge and then ate a lot of salads with tuna, cheese or hard boiled eggs for protein. I got up early on Sunday morning to bake before it got too hot and made a batch of energy balls and a rhubarb/cream cheese/crumble bar – a big batch! Of course, I’m supposed to be watching my weight so I took quite a few of these into the office to share – they were well received!
I took the time to clean and reorganize my fridge in order to better access items that I use most often.
I added more bottles of water to my pantry (the watermain break in Calgary has made me even more conscious of the need for more)!
Did four more loads of laundry and hung them all up to dry.
Picked up two 90 day prescription renewals and paid a whole 5 cents for processing – the pharmacist was just going to waive it but I actually had a nickel on me!
Was gifted a lovely bottle of wine from a co-worker as a thank you for something I helped her to resolve. I was in the office on Monday morning (not my usual day) and received a couple of apple muffins from the volunteer who does the baking for our Out of the Cold program – enjoyed one with a cup of tea for my break. I took my electric kettle into the office kitchen as it is so much faster than waiting for the giant kettles we use there – I think I used it three times at home and blew a fuse twice! They use an incredible amount of power and I kept forgetting and using other appliances at the same time. It will get much more use at the office.
The temp at the moment is 32C and feels like 42C with the humidity – we are under that heat dome they are talking about. My apt. isn’t bad – there are large trees that help to block the sun from my west facing windows and my fans are enough in the living room. I have a window A/C in the bedroom so I can sleep – just hope the grid holds and the thunderstorms we are expecting don’t cause any damage. I hope others under this weather alert are staying safe, especially all you gardeners.
It’s been a great frugal week in Houston, TX!
I signed my older boys up for a free Astros baseball camp, which they’ve enjoyed.
We’ve spent lots of time at the neighborhood pool.
Four of my kids swim on the neighborhood swim team, and I’ve packed food and snacks for the meets to avoid the concession stand. Many of these are “treat” type food that they don’t usually get, so it feels special. The swimmers can really work up an appetite!
A daughter made cookies to share with friends.
I filled up with gas at the cheaper gas station.
I bought reclaimed rotisserie chicken from Sam’s (cut up from the $5 rotisserie chickens that don’t sell the day before, then marked down). The quantity of chicken I get for the price can’t be beat!
My salad rang up $5.99 instead of $2.99 for the tub at Randall’s, so I asked the cashier to correct it. It took a long time for the price check, but they finally did.
We’re eating oatmeal from the 50# bag I bought for .69/# at Sprouts, adding fruit and toppings to make it taste less plain.
I’m teaching an online summer class, so no commuting or babysitting costs.
My dad helped the older boys with their fishing poles when we went up to the ranch for Father’s Day.
I’ve sold several things online.
I bought the .50 day old Jimmy John’s bread to make into sandwiches.
Huge gift: a neighbor’s cousin models for a clothing store called Francesca’s, and they let her keep everything from her photo shoot. Somehow the unwanted leftovers got passed to my oldest daughter, who found about 20 pieces of cute, brand new, trendy items. What a generous gift!
I went through boxes of cleats, boots, and sandals, which I try to buy gender neutral. Good boots can be pricey. Next up are the boxes of tennis shoes, some are too worn to keep or may be duplicate sizes.
I’m going to try to do more decluttering next week. It’s so overwhelming. I have limited storage space, some age and size gaps between genders, and I’m not organizationally inclined.
I cooked a roast that I used for two meals.
Our salvage grocery store frequently sells Olive Garden salad dressing for .40/bottle, which I love. I think I used half a bottle on a giant pasta salad we made, but it was delicious.
We cleaned the dryer filter.
I took the kids to a free Marble Slab ice cream event at Frost Bank. We’re going to another one this Friday at a different bank location.
At our IKEA, kids eat free on Wednesdays. With the purchase of 3 adult entrees, I got 6 free kid meals. This came to $20, which is a great deal for eating out for my family. It’s usually cost prohibitive. We looked around the store and enjoyed the cafe on a rainy day.
My Aldi has been out of diapers, and I still haven’t found them at other Aldis. In the meantime, I bought the HEB brand from Joe V’s, only slightly more expensive.
We’ve received a good amount of rain, so plants are looking green.
Hope everyone has a nice, frugal week!
I love vintage pieces too! That is great that you were able to get so many pieces! And what a pretty red dress! Today I cooked a pumpkin that I bought last November for $1.50. Tomorrow, I hope to make pumpkin pie. My husband put seasoning on the seeds so we can roast them tomorrow as well. We are cooking at home for all of our meals. We are encouraging each other to cook at home when we don’t really feel like it and we end up happy for it! We continue to use cloth napkins, towels, and handkerchiefs. I have been looking up recipes to use what we have. We listen to music on the internet for free. We played Mexican train with my husband’s family when visiting. It is a fun domino game and we enjoyed talking. We went to my parents house for hamburgers and brought some corn and broccoli that was given to us. It was an enjoyable time talking over dinner. We are really watching sales to see what groceries we want to buy. We are eating what we have for the most part though. We are making sure to use leftovers. My husband is making coffee or tea for work and I make some for my son as well. My husband also takes a lunch and snacks with him. We are careful to turn off lights when not in use. We actually used less electricity this year than last year for every month so far. I’m not sure if it is cheaper though, probably not. But, we are being careful to not crank up the air conditioning too much. I was so glad to see your post today Brandy.
Hi Brandy,
I know you must be super busy with your family given what your recent story on instagram. I just wanted you to know I was holding you in my thoughts and praying. Your family is the most important thing. Hugs!
Thank you Chris. My daughters are safe.
We have to figure out how to replace everything.
Very sad situation.
Our friends were the owners of the boat. Watching them cry while their boat burned was very sad for my girls.
I saw it too. That was crazy. Glad your girls are safe and praying for everyone.
Hi Brandy,
Just want to say how pretty you are in the outfit. Great to find deals! I have grown okra for years. I love the beautiful flowers they make even mover then the okra itself. I too have been cutting flowers from my garden and around the house to add to the small bouquet of flowers hubby bought me for my birthday. Hubby’s company has announced huge lay offs coming this next month. He is ok for now so time to buckle down and save more. This will be a very tight Holiday Season so I have already started looking and buying items for the family for dirt cheap. I still want a lovely Season but can’t afford more the a few dollars for each. Thank God I have a turkey and ham in the freezer from stock piling before. I also ran across one local store that is selling cans of corn, green beans and peas for $0.65 per can. I have added as many as my budget will allow and more in the future to help with my grocery budget. With the looming lay offs my food budget went down to only $100 a month. Luckily I have my garden producing a bit now to make up the difference. We will make it though!
1. Mend a few outfits
2. Planted more in the garden
3. Sew a dog toy
4. Put money in savings
5. Eating from pantry this whole week
6. Working on a project with items we have on hand
7. We have switched to room A/C as both of our units have died. I have two one for the family room and one for the Master bedroom. We are making it.
8. Reusing all drinking water for potted plants
9. I have been freezing eggs from our chickens for the Fall, Winter and Spring when they dont lay.
10. Enjoying some books I have around the house.
Be at Peace and know God is there!
You are wise to prepare now, and I understand that budget well.
You know, there are people in my area who sell their garden flowers in little homemade stands beside the road in front of their house. They do have the expense of the little homemade stand and a welded metal box with a slit in the top for money that is welded to a post driven into the ground. The stands have holes that jars of water fit into for the bouquets. The payment is on the honor system, and the stands are unattended. But they appear to sell 10-20 little bouquets of 3-4 flowers each for 2 or 3-5 dollars each about every day. I don’t know how many flowers you have or your location, but it might be an idea to bring in some small extra cash. Enough people do it on one road I have seen that it adds a little bit of charm to the neighborhood. No one needs a business license or permission or anything; they just do it. Just an idea. Best wishes to you during this challenging time.
Dear Brandy,
I was trying to find the instagram story about the boat but couldn’t access it. Does this refer to one of the boats burning at Lake Mead?
I have been praying that God gives you and yours courage and comfort in difficult times.
It was at Lake Powell. Click on my stories. There are photos and videos of the boat on fire that were taken by strangers.
My husband and I had Juneteenth off but the children’s care was open so we went canoeing just the two of us for the morning. We enjoyed a nice picnic lunch on an island in the middle of the lake we canoed on.
We found several camping-related items on sale for our eldest who is turning 8 this week. He is a Scout so he will love these gifts!
Otherwise it has been a non-prudent month so happy to use this as a kick in the pants to get things back in gear!
Thanks. For some reason I can’t access your stories. technology!
Thankfully everyone got off safely.
Pet sitting in big city. I always get mani-pedi at local beauty school and it’s $35 plus 2 $5 tips. Which is a pretty good deal. Day before appointment when I brought in homeowners’ mail I noticed a ValPak envelope. Since it was not personal I opened it and inside was coupon for mani pedi at exact same place for $15. WooHoo. It was great. I do my own nails often but not my toes. They do a great job and toe polish usually lasts a month or so.
Homeowners left me grocery gift card, bakery gift card, CFA gift card and tons of cash plus casseroles in freezer. It’s like being on all expense paid vacay except I get up at 6am to care for dogs and in my real life I don’t get up until 8. Plus I water tons of plants which I don’t do at home. And they have way better cable and streaming tv than I do. Memphis has shopping and restaurants that aren’t in my little country town of 500 and I always have a great time. Several good thrift stores nearby and great library book store. Friend who recently retired and moved away was able to come for 3 day visit. We had great fun catching up. Free vacay for her too.
Frugal fail: I have $75 in gift cards to Cheesecake Factory. We were going to use last weekend but they announced they are closing in July and I don’t want to go to restaurant where employees may be disgruntled. I guess I’ll just save them for visit to city with one.
My sister is looking after my cat while I’m here looking after dogs. I am taking her several happies and will look after her dogs and cat when she goes on vacay in July. We only live two country miles from each other.
Have taken advantage of several Hallmark coupons while I’m here. We no longer have HM stores anywhere near my home and here there’s a store only one red light away.
Have read 4 library books while I’m here. My 13 yo niece and I are going to library summer reading event once I get home. It’s a beading jewelry making class where you take home a necklace and earrings that you make. All library programs are free.
I hope there is someone out there enjoying all this heat . I definitely am not a fan of it. I’m traveling this coming week. Thankfully ,everything is paid for. I need to pay for 3 small rides to the ship and airport but that is all. I received an onboard credit for my cruise after complaining about my rewards card discount not having been applied to my previous and current cruise. The last two weeks I have spent a little more money than I wanted to. I’ve repaired 2 tires. I had planned on doing this in the fall but obviously will need to this before then. I’ve used more gasoline than normal driving back and forth into the city. Sugar cookie had some extra expenses traveling to her family up North . These little things add up. I’m taking my water bottle and some food with me to travel to my cruise. I’m staying in a hostel so there’s no free breakfast. I went to 99 cent day at Goodwill today. I found a lovely beach hat. A bag of books. They are puzzles and journal books. A notepad and a small inspirational book. They are small and Ill add them to my travel bag. I bought a new bookbag branded for travel and a wallet . I like 99 cent days. I need to remember to go more often. My daughter bought two suitcases at an airport auction for 10.00. The suitcases are higher end so well worth it. Sugar cookie is claiming a Lavender one. These suitcases are stuffed with clothes. My daughter is sending most of it home with me. I know there’s a bunch of baby items and young girls. I’m sure my neighbor will find a home for them one way or the other. I bought 2 more airline tickets for mine and Sugar cookies cruise in September. I got 2 one way tickets for $22.00 a piece. I need to buy the return tickets as soon as I see the best deal. Now that I have my thyroid stable ,I’m losing weight. I’m down 25 lbs in 6 weeks. I’ve enjoyed eating on the THM plan. I collect fruits and vegetables each day. I found cases of chicken a week ago and added some beef in a few days ago. The strawberries and grapes are bountiful. The children collect fruit from me each day as I drive through the neighborhood. Its a blessing to help them. Tomorrow the cold case gets dumped at my favorite dumpster. I literally will be parked and ready to claim it as soon as the employee enters the building. I’m hoping for cream cheese and butter. I never would have thought this to be my life but it really is amazing. Today’s haul was logs of cookie dough and banana nut bread. That must be a newer item. The kids on the block were jumping up and down. You hear about waste, but it actually is so much worse than you can imagine . Have a great week friends.
Enjoy your cruise – well deserved after all you do to reclaim items that would go to waste and that you are then able to share with others!
Such a treat, live music. You certainly looked lovely in your splendid outfit. As usual your photos are beautiful, I’m just starting to get roses they are late this year. I’ve harvested herbs, which have done well despite the wet weather. My first peas and mange tout have been picked. I plan to plant a lot of seeds in 10 days time so I’m hoping for a late harvest of different vegetables and salad items.
I’m currently in the stages of final wedding preparations, just 3 days to go until our youngest daughter marries. After all the silk arrangements where done it was my outfit that had to be sorted. I was able to get the colour I wanted for 50% off. The colour was classed as last seasons colour but it was just what I wanted. I also found shoes and handbag at the local market, so this saved me at least 30%, all parts of the outfit can be mixed and matched with items I already have.
I noticed that the last 2 posts do not have your Amazon links. I had to go back to the May 13 th one. Did you stop doing the Amazon?
I am still doing Amazon! I cannot get the links to work right now because I need to update my PHP, and I can’t get that to work, either. I am trying.
I’m late to this game, but you look very lovely in red! that is a very flattering color for you. Also I saw your post on instagram, and am so glad your daughters and friends are okay! That must have been quite a scare.
Our weather is getting quite warm – we hit 100 for the first time a couple of days ago, so summer is officially here. We are keeping blinds closed and curtains drawn, fans going, to keep things cool as much as possible and reduce running the central a/c (even though it is a necessity!) We turn our air up to 77 while we are gone during the day, and 75 when we are home. We have found that if we turn it any higher during the day, our west-facing bedroom warms up too much – usually 1-3 degrees warmer than the rest of our condo – and won’t cool down sufficiently at night to be comfortable. We have been in the pool a few times recently, which is a nice relief from the heat.
We attended the wedding of a friend’s daughter and enjoyed a lovely evening with friends at a beautiful historic hotel. We had dinner beforehand in the hotel’s restaurant. They had a happy hour special with many menu items discounted to $5 or $10, so we were able to get a full, delicious meal quite inexpensively. We saw several couples we have not seen in a while at the wedding, so it was nice to catch up.
We have been cooking and eating almost all meals at home. I cut my husband’s hair, and did my own manicure and pedicure. Got my hair cut, but my salon sent out a free service add-on special by email about a week before my appointment, so I was able to add an extra service that I would not normally get (conditioning color gloss) onto the cut for no additional charge. That was a nice treat before the wedding. Store sales included finding marked down brisket, cube steak (for chicken fried steak), flank steak, salmon filets, and pot roast for 50% off, and whole chickens for $5. All of those items went into our freezer for future meals. I bought boxed macaroni & cheese mixes for .27 cents each on a weekly sale. We kept a couple (they are good when someone in the house is sick), and donated the rest. Crackers and cereal were purchased on sale and one box of cereal ended up being free after a store digital coupon. One of our neighbors moved out recently and gifted us with all the stuff they didn’t want to move or throw away. We accepted a palm tree and a small succulent, multiple grocery bags of HBA products (we will not have to buy body lotion, deodorant spray, or hand soap for at least a year), and a new heated throw blanket. We needed a new heated throw as the one we have is several years old and very worn, and our larger electric blanket was stolen during a break-in at our storage unit earlier this year. The neighbors also left some new children’s games and pokemon cards that my husband took to his office and gave away to very happy coworkers for their grandkids. We also gave away several other plants and pots, some tech items and phone cases, and quite a few bottles of hand sanitizer.
I am about to be off work on medical leave for another hand surgery. I will be glad to have it done. It is carpal tunnel surgery, and my dominant hand was done several weeks ago. I had immediate relief from the constant numbness and tingling, so I am ready to have the other hand done now! I am thankful for health insurance. I am grateful that I now have a full department of great employees, which will give me peace of mind while I am out. Very thankful for that!
I hope everyone has a wonderful week and stays cool. 🙂
Brandy, your mini-bud vases were just what I was looking for!!!! Each lady in our women’s church group has to prepare a program. For my program I needed about 10 small vessels these bud vases were just what I wonted. Loved you in the red dress.
So glad to hear it!