I cut roses from my garden to enjoy inside.
I harvested cherry tomatoes and Early Girl tomatoes, Swiss chard, and lemons from the garden.
I mended a hole in the toe of a pair of sweater tights.
It rained enough that I was able to turn off the drip irrigation for a bit. I collected rainwater in buckets and washtubs to use to water the garden.
I had a simple Christmas.
What did you do to save money last week?
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I harvested tomatoes, lemons, figs, swiss chard, and peaches from my garden. I sowed seeds in the garden for basil, zinnias, and vincas. I made a batch of apricot vanilla jam with apricots from my garden. I used shower warm-up water, water from rinsing fruits and vegetables, water from steaming vegetables, water from canning, and…
In the garden this week, I planted seeds for lettuce, turnips, and flowers. I harvested Swiss chard, beet greens, oregano, rosemary, and parsley from the garden. We received some rain this week. In the past month, we’ve had some rain almost every week, and it’s been enough each time to actually water the garden, so…
My husband gave one of our sons a haircut. I watched several YouTube tutorials to learn how to do several things I needed to do this week. I then followed through and did those things. I made a doube batch of laundry soap. My youngest had recently broken favorite mixing bowl. I love a ceramic…
I cut flowers from the garden for the house for several arrangements. I picked 1 basketful of figs, two and a half colanders full of blackberries, and apples from the garden. We’ve never had such a large blackberry harvest. I will be covering our bushes with sheets every year from now on to protect…
I cut and dried basil from the garden. We picked pears from the garden. My husband gave my two elder boys and himself a haircut. I gave two daughters a haircut. I found one of my daughter’s college texts used on Amazon for $30 less than buying it from the university bookstore. I received a survey…
It’s been mostly slow for me the last couple of weeks as we have dealt with illness all last week and I spent the week of Thanksgiving cleaning the house. I harvested butternut squash, a pumpkin, roselle hibiscus, lemon verbena, basil, Meyer lemons, a zucchini, an Armenian cucumber (that I had missed earlier), cherry tomatoes,…
We had a quiet and simple Xmas too-over to my brothers for dinner on Xmas and sisters on boxing day. Today when I filled up the car it said 3 cents off per litre with a AAA card-but it actually gave me 8 cents off so only paid 92.9 per litre which is a really good deal. Then went to Banff which currently has free admission to the National Parks-very pretty with all the snow on the mountains.
Tomorrow we are off to visit friends for a low key New Years visit. Happy New Year to all.
Simple Christmas is the way to go, imo!! We simplified because I was still recovering from my hospital stay and don’t regret it one bit! Your flowers are beautiful as is your Bounty from the garden!
On Flashfood this week, I found 4 Pot Roast kits for the crockpot which each contained a 2 pound boneless beef Chuck roast, 1 pound each of small red potatoes, onions, carrots and celery, with seasonings included. They had been normally priced at $17.99 each, but I got them for $3 each! I kept 1 and gave the other 3 to my friends who have 6 kids (including 4 teens). She will add extra potatoes, carrots but putting all 3 in crockpot at 1 time it will be a simple and hearty meal for their family with leftovers too!
From the 17 pounds of strawberries I bought last week for 99 cents/pound, I got 2 half gallon mason jars filled with dehydrated strawberry slices! We enjoy these in oatmeal, muffins, breads or just snacking on by themselves!
When I knew that my out-of-state daughter and her family were going to come to church with us and then straight over to our house for lunch, I bought a $5 produce box from Flashfood that contained 3 pounds of apples, 3 pounds of cuties, 3 pounds of onions, 4 pounds of baby carrots, 2 heads of lettuce, 1 cabbage and a dozen hot peppers! The fruit and carrots were used at lunchtime and for them to eat in their car when they drove back to St Louis this morning (8 hour drive) . The lettuce was used in sandwiches made from leftover chicken and ham slices from Christmas Day open house we hosted. I am so grateful to have a well stocked pantry/freezer and options to buy food at highly discounted prices. I know that it’s not an option many people have.
The weather has gone from 62 degrees yesterday to a high of 25 degrees (with windchill temp of 2 degrees) today! It is bitterly cold and we are happy to be able to stay home out often the cold!
I just finished dehydrating more of the FF onions that were in Saturday’s box of produce that I bought. They are so handy to sprinkle into something I’m cooking!
I have been organizing in my sewing room since we closed our longarm quilting business for the holidays . I quilted up and bound 2 quilts that I made totally from scraps – https://pin.it/1uOoapjiN and https://pin.it/2qFSQfORt. And then I made this one for a new baby in our congregation- https://pin.it/1ok8ezu4m and Minkee backing – https://pin.it/RGLSTfaud. I have another scrappy quilt top I made on Lenni my longarm machine using a sheet I bought at Goodwill for backing and “Frankenbatting” that I cobbled together using batting trimmings from other quilts! It will also go in gift cupboard for a ready-to-go present !
Using GasBuddy free app on our phone, we got Costco gas. We plan our errands when we need gas so we can be close by. It was $2.12/gallon so we were thrilled! That free app has saved us hundreds of dollars in the years we’ve had it, whether we are getting gas locally or out of town/out of state. Not only does it compare prices but directs you to locations nearby!
We got our 2026 Cost of Living adjustment notice from Social Security and mine was going to be a net amount each month that would be $22/month less than my monthly amount this year. Looking it over, I saw a monthly deduction of $90.20 taken out for my Medicare Part D (prescription coverage). I was shocked because my insurance broker advised me to switch to a different company where my premium would be ZERO per month ! I gave him a call on Friday and he called me back today. We walked through it and he saw that this would have been my premium for 2026 if I had stayed with the old company. But everything had been done well before the deadline so I effectively got a $90.20/month raise. With Parts B and C increasing, and even counting in the 2.8% cost of living increase, my final take home from SS will be $68.20 more this coming year. Not much but it adds up to an extra $818.40 for the year, so I will be grateful to get it!
I hope everyone is staying safe and well through the crazy weather and natural calamities that are happening locally and globally! I am looking forward to improving and becoming better stewards of all we’ve been blessed with!
Gardenpat
I never cease to be amazed by your FF finds!
Brandy,
That Swiss chard is big and beautiful. If you ordered seeds for these, you definitely need to send a picture to who you ordered them from. My friend grew a huge watermelon and sent the picture to Burpee (the place she purchased the seeds from), and for the use of her picture she was given a $100 voucher for seeds from the catalog. Might be worth checking into. I am so thankful you are blogging again. I don’t comment much but enjoy reading your blog and everyone’s comments. It’s wonderful to have likeminded on-line friends.
The seeds are Fordhook Giant Swiss chard. It’s an open-pollinated variety, so you can collect seeds from it. It’s sold all over.
Wow on the big green leaves! Is that your Swiss Chard? Amazing!!!!! I had a simple Christmas also. I also enjoyed walking in various parks when I visited my in state children.
Yes! Aren’t they huge?!? I love how big they get. This is Fordhook Giant Swiss Chard.
Eating meals from food I rescued and items already on hand instead of purchasing specialty $$$ items for holiday dinners. Reused brown paper gift bags for birthday wrap and Christmas gift wrap. Gifted my adult child their $$$ grocery ingredients instead of random stuff. Taking my teens to redeem some free milk shake coupons that expire on 12/31. Used the library extensively.
I love seeing your garden produce!
We hosted several Christmas parties. I did get some seafood but also used some of what we had on hand. We kept Christmas gifts minimal, with some Marketplace and free finds. I found a free football team scarf which had a small rip, so I sewed it and gifted it to my husband for Christmas. I also found him a like new winter coat a few weeks back at the thrift store. Grandparents got my kids practical gifts as my request, like socks, art supplies and a membership to the children’s museum. I did splurge on some higher end leggings(on clearance), as I’ve heard they last a long time, and the cheaper ones wear out in less than a year on me. I made free porch pots with greenery from our yard.
I added up our food budget from 2025 and I’m committed to making some changes. I’m trying to use up some of the random stuff we’ve had sitting around. We got 1/2 cow this year, although we gift some to my parents, I’d like to reduce our meat consumption and only get 1/4 next year. My garden was a bust last summer, I’m hoping to get more compost and give it more attention. I accepted a free coffee pot at work that uses k cups, so I’m less tempted to run out to the coffee shop. Cooked a batch of bone broth. Cooked the frozen pumpkins from thanksgiving and puréed for the freezer. Gave some to my mom, and she shared some pumpkin bread with us.
We’ve enjoyed some library books and some books we had laying around. I do have a few specific books I wanted for a long time that aren’t at the library, so I ordered them from ebay. I sold a few things on eBay and marketplace. I gave away quite a few things on the buy nothing site and some hand me downs to friends.
I recommend PangoBooks as well for books! I feel that I get a better idea of condition from sellers there than I usually do on eBay. I also resell my books there rather than eBay usually.
I agree with the others Brandy, I’m beyond excited to see your blog posts again.
Very impressive chard! Happy New Year!
So happy this blog is back! Thankyou Brandy.
I have had my baby now-she is six months old- Anna Elizabeth. She is such a blessing.
Looking forward to learning as much as possible. I hope to be able to stay at home with Anna, and save on some nursery fees.
This week we-
– had a simple Christmas. My partner and I did not buy gifts for each other and we put some money aside for Anna. Other people kindly gifted her some presents.
-ate out of our freezer and only bought milk and bread at the shops.
-reused all gift wrapping materials.
-made homemade cards
– worked out when our ‘free two hours’ is with our energy company so we could use appliances then. This is something our company offers-a bit gimmicky but important not to miss!
-were gifted many leftovers from gatherings, like Christmas pudding and veggies
-my mum is fab and always buys me ‘useful’ pressies-gift wrapping materials, kitchen equipment, scissors etc. which were so gratefully received.
-exercised with YouTube videos for free
-gave up a magazine subscription
-listened to Christmas carols on YouTube
-made treats for my choir party with leftover ingredients (flapjack and biscuits)
Sending New Year good wishes to everyone
Congratulations Jenny on the birth of your daughter. You have much joy in store.
Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
Congratulations, Jenny, on the birth of your daughter. May you all be blessed!
Wow, that Swiss chard is amazing!!!
My Costco gas here on the west coast is unfortunately nearly double that price, but less than last month. Just bought name brand, angel soft, tp after finishing Costco brand, which I didn’t like. However, found they now made the whole roll one full inch narrower and no longer 2 ply. I knew food was much pricier, but I need to pay more attention to other items as well. I won’t be buying this again. Also, the brand of eggnog I normally buy was not only a smaller container, but also greatly watered down.
Not very frugal week overall I’m afraid. Storm on Christmas Day blew down a fence, so need to coordinate w neighbor and call my insurance.
The trip last Monday to the er resulted w one ankle w major soft tissue damage and in a cast and the other ankle is broken, but currently only in an ace bandage. I can’t get into to see an orthopedic dr till middle of next week due to holidays. So tomorrow will order microwave dinners delivered from the grocery store. At least they are currently on sale for almost 50% off and I’m blessed to have finally bought a freezer, so I can stock up. Normally, I cook from scratch so this will be expensive for a bit.
I did manage to have Christmas Eve dinner at my sil’s minus the eggnog cheesecake I was to bring. Plus, was sent home w extras, so had good leftovers for Christmas Day. Different sil fell that week too and broke her orbital bone, so we sat together on the sofa, me with my bad ankles and her with her blackeye. What a pair!
I hope your injuries will heal well Maria.
Thank you 💜
Praying you heal quickly, Maria.
I’ve been making the most of what seems like a good time to sell things. I took the hall runner up and sold it the same day. I listed a table today and someone just picked that up. I also sold a baby bath and a child’s chair. All today. I think more people are off work or working less between Christmas and New Year.
I’m taking the week off cooking and it has been the simplest of meals around here. It means no spending on groceries at all and that has been very nice.
We are car shopping which is hard and I don’t like, but we are narrowing down our choices. We listed one of our cars on Facebook marketplace today.
My husband is playing pickleball at the local courts that are free
I went on a hike with my neighbor today, so also free.
My parents gave us a bag of Meyer lemons and I will make marmalade.
A neighbor gave us some eureka lemons. I received Jan from two friends and a jar of honey from one friend. All this is so gratefully received and enjoyed.
We are enjoying kale and Swiss chard from the garden. It is too cold to garden here until the end of January and I appreciate the break.
Hi Brandy and everyone
Your Swiss Chard looks amazing! I like the colour of your blouse too.
Lidl in the UK ran a loss leader before Christmas, Brussel sprouts, carrots, parsnips and potatoes were all 5 pence a bag, limit of 3 bags of each vegetable per customer. I bought the three bags of everything knowing we like to cook plenty of veg to make bubble and squeak for the next couple of days and I can freeze excess veg or make soup.
We received many lovely gifts, usually of a practical nature which is just what we like.
I have received a couple of things from friends which I just won’t use so I will give them as raffle prizes to events which I know my friend won’t attend.
Thank you. The blouse is from Ross, a discount store that has one or two of a kind of things from the previous year’s styles (and I believe it also has a number of seconds, as well). It’s so rare to find a nice blue blouse.
Amazing swiss chard, I will be trying to source the seeds for it.
The colour of the blue blouse looks lovely on you
We also had a quiet Christmas day, the first time I’ve not hosted in 35 years, I wanted to stay at home, it was lovely and so relaxing.
I’ve still hosted on other days, I sourced a salmon at 50% off, it did a main meal for 6, salmon pasta for 2 and sandwiches for my husband. I’ve been enjoying vegetable soup made with leftovers. Have sorted in date order edible Christmas gifts, so we don’t end up wasting any.
Have started doing menu plans again, cooking for just 2 or 3 has taken some adjusting. Now my husband has taken early retirement I need to be more frugal.
I hope the new year is a happy and healthy one for you. With blessings to you and your family.
It’s Fordhook Giant Swiss chard. It’s super common to find in the U.S.; hopefully, you can find it there. It’s an open-pollinated variety, so you can save seeds from it to plant in following years.
Wow, the swiss chards!! I thank the Lord, Brandy, you were given the wisdom, knowledge and time to keep this community going. Adding this back into my schedule has been helpful as I enter into a new year with so much change and loss and moving forward with the Lord’s always faithful help.
Last week we used hotel reward points that were going to expire the end of the year to go to TN for a few days. The great reviews were true about the hotel we picked. We had a kitchenette so we cooked all our meals there. It was unusually warm at 70 degrees and they had a nice place to sit outside and read. It did my soul good.
I don’t have any new ideas how to save so I keep on with the ones I know….. figuring out new recipes to eat with cheap, nutritious, filling foods we like to eat. Cleaning and reorganizing so we know what we have to use. The cold weather has hit so I am making red raspberry/oat straw tea again with tea leaves I purchased bulk a few years ago. I love reading all the foods people freeze successfully. We have a freezer chest so room to purchase items cheap and then freeze them. Happy New Years!
Thank you, Renee.
With the cost of everything going up SO much, I think we can all use some ideas on cutting expenses wherever possible.
We’ve done quite a bit of driving recently (vacation, visiting a sick family member and then spending time with family after that family member passed away) and I use the Pilot/Flying J and Love’s apps to get $0.10/gallon off.
Christmas this year was not normal after we lost my brother-in-law on the 23rd. We were on the other side of the state that day, drove home on Christmas Eve, spent Christmas Day at home with my step-daughter and her fiancé, then left the 26th to spend the weekend with my sister-in-law and their kids.
We also have an electric vehicle and with solar panels at home, we always start a long trip at 100% charged at home.
I’m sorry for your loss.
Oh Susan, I’m so sorry. It is so difficult. I will pray a while for you today.
Jeannie
The color combo from your shirt and chard and refreshing on day 4 of cloudy days. If you have time to answer – what is that pistachio dessert?
We spent a little more on presents this year, as some are elderly and 2 are in college and won’t be coming home this summer (they offically fledged the nest), plus out of town family came in – so all in all it was going to be a larger than usual holiday. Other than the gifts, kept other expenses small and asked for food contributions with meals. Leftovers, stock was made, or new variations of toasted cheese sandwiches were made with homemade bread. My spouse and I took a day trip and packed sandwiches and drinks and sent no money on tokens, keepsakes – just took in the scenery and enjoyed the train ride home.
Made thank you cards with spent calendar pages and funny slogans with rubber stamps I had.
Happy New Year everyone!
It’s kheer, a rice pudding made with basmati rice and rose water, topped with pistachios.
The cake looks amazing with the nicely decorated details.
-We visited our family and did a road trip that was a big circle for Christmas. I took items to contribute to the meals others were serving and appreciated the time together. We stayed with family in their homes and helped as much as possible for the kind hospitality.
-I gave Christmas gifts I found at estate sales and will do that again.
-Snow storm brought 12″ and a down tree. We were able to remove the tree ourselves and will use it for firewood.
-Removed outdoor and indoor lite Christmas decorations to save on the electric bill.
-Saved Christmas cards that we received this year for next for gift tags etc. I sort thru and save only ones that will work.
-Reviewed our 2025 year end budget and created the new tracking spreadsheet for 2026.
-Filled my 3-month RX and it was covered 100%. As of the first of the year that will change and have a co-pay so I am set until spring to refill.
-I brought a puzzle to the library in exchange for a puzzle.
-Made a chicken dinner with all the fixin’s. Used up celery, carrots, bread cubes I dried for the dressing and cranberries we got at the cranberry farm.
-I wore a red sweater for Christmas that I styled up with jewelry I had. The sweater is very old but does the trick and I smile wearing it.
The best to everyone in this week as we approach the New Year.
We had a pretty simple Christmas also. My husband cooked too much, as usual, and he’s getting tired of leftovers, but I’m persisting.
The temperature was wonderful last week, so we didn’t have to run the heat.
Read two books and returned them to the library, as well as returned my borrowed audiobook as soon as I was finished.
I canceled Panera Sip Club. I had it cheap during the summer, then extended it for just a few dollars, and it was set to increase to full price in January. I just don’t use it enough to justify paying full price.
My daughter’s Native conditioner on clearance in an a multipack of 6. saved $30.
I used other bags for trash bags. Im still not through all the trash bags that I found cleaning out my mother in laws house.
I have three bags of stuff for donation and one bag of electronic recycling I need to drop off this week.
Hello, Frugal friends! Brandy, that chard is amazing! I also love the flower photos. I am wondering what your final photo is of? Is it food? It is so pretty. Here in the mountains it is bitter cold this week. It is making us think about our electric bill and how we can keep it down. We have geothermal heating and air so our bill is usually much lower than our neighbors’ (Our neighbors average between $500-600/month electric bills during the winter.) but with this extreme cold it will be harder to keep the bill as low as I like. Our budget for winter is $200/month. Keeping our thermostat at 66, limiting the use of our oven and lights, as well as using our gas fireplace to supplement heat and using our solar generators to recharge devices, I think we will need to look at other ways to lower the bill for this next billing cycle. I am open to ideas, frugal friends. I am challenging myself to $200/month grocery spending. I am using cash to help me do this. I was in Kroger yesterday and found 6 grocery carts of clearance items. Most were filled with things we do not eat or use like expensive crackers and plug in scent things, but I found large bottles of lemon juice for .79, a can of organic tomatoes for .79. and Dawn Power wash spray for 1.79. I bought 1 bottle of lemon juice, the can of tomatoes, and 4 bottles of Dawn power wash. They also had packages of precooked bacon marked down to .99/box so I bought 4 boxes and froze them when I got home. Bacon is a rarity here so it will be a nice treat in the next few months. I did next to no post Christmas buying except I found clear cellophane wrap for 60% off ($1.60) and a package of 12 Christmas lunch size bags for $1.20 for next year. I checked out 2 books from the library while I was in the area. Like others we had a simple Christmas this year. It was nice and we had fun playing a new game called Uzzle. It is hard to find a game everyone from age 8 to 71 can play together but this one fit the bill. Lots of laughs and simple challenges. I will host our annual lumpia New Year’s Day meal with everyone coming and going as it fits into their schedule New Year’s Day. I usually also make Chinese chicken wings but the price of wings has gotten too high for me. Instead I will make pork dumplings as I already have the ground pork in the freezer bought when it was marked down a few months ago. Any sides and dessert will be from the pantry. I wish everyone a frugal and blessed 2026.
It’s kheer, which is a rice pudding made with basmati rice and rose water.
You can make your own Dawn power wash refill liquid.
1 1/2 tablespoons rubbing (isopropyl) alcohol, preferably 70%
1/4 cup (four tablespoons) Dawn dish detergent or Dawn Powerwash dish detergent
Water to fill bottle within 1″ of top, distilled preferred
8 drops of essential oil of choice, optional
Hi Brandy,
I’m not sure if you received my two previous posts — if you did, no need to post this one. First of all a Happy and Healthy New Year to everyone.
I resolved not to buy anything online on Boxing Day Dec. 26th. Well, that did not last long. I bought two pairs of corduroy pants from Lands End. The sale price in Cdn dollars was about half the sales price from a Canadian online site plus I know that Land’s End sizing fits me where it would be a risky venture to buy from a Canadian store. The only Canadian site that had the same price was all sold out. From my favourite Canadian site I bought a canvas jacket (not waxed cotton but the same style as the really expensive ($500-$1000) waxed cotton British jackets that I’ve so longed for). On sale, my jacket was $34 plus free shipping (reduced from $120).
I decided not to buy any new sweaters. I have three sets of beautiful wool yarn that i bought when I was still able to knit. (the spiral fracture of my arm means I can no longer knit). I am going to put an ad in a seniors newspaper and ask if any of the keen knitters would knit a sweater for me. I have a small fortune in wool.
Everything is so expensive now. I was amazed to see how pricey corduroy pants were on
at the regular price. And today, Marks & Spencers had free shipping plus 20% off on the lingerie I love. I couldn’t even find any online from Canadian stores. Afterwards I did find one store and I could get them for the same price but would have had to pay for shipping. So I was still ahead getting them from England.
I now have all the clothes I need for the next few years.
My big win was on the grocery store website. I have wanted to try Frusta (an italian pizza like hand food) but at $6 each it was too much. Today however, they had mushroom frusta for sale at 94 cents each so I bought 8. It should be good for 16 meals as there are 2 per package. I hope I like them…!
Lillianne’s finds are incredible — what i find hard to believe is that the store wouldn’t just donate these goods to a thrift store, or a charitable hostel for women. Lucky for Lillianne they d0n’t do that. Here, our big grocery store and our bakery donate items to our community food cupboard.
What do you make with Swiss Chard? I have never had any. Your pictures are beautiful. Love the blue blouse. We had a low keyed Christmas and we all enjoyed it better. We gave and received items that are needs and a few wants. I am already trying to figure out my garden. Bi was told recently of a garden trial thru the extension service where they will give you seeds and you take pictures during the growing season and fill out a survey at the end. I am going to apply for it and hope I have good results. I got a raised bed for Christmas and I was thinking I would try to grow some herbs. What herbs do you recommend for a novice gardener? I spent today with two aunts and we went to lunch with coupons and to the grocery store. We had such a good time visiting and getting groceries. We exchanged coupons, ideas and lots of laughter. They do not get out much as they don’t drive anymore. I was glad to help them out and visit as well.
What zone do you live in? Lots of herbs do well here that struggle in colder and wetter climates.
I use Swiss chard in soup, chopped or blended. I steam it and put lemon juice and salt on it as a side dish. It’s a great spinach substitute; I use it in place of spinach in frittata and in lots of Indian and Pakistani dishes that call for spinach.
You can also use it in salads, though people usually cut the tiny leaves for that. It grows back after cutting; you just harvest the outer leaves and it grows all year for me until in bolts in April.
I am not sure what zone I live in. I live in Middle Tennessee. I will look it up. Thank you for the information on the Chard plant.
Donna, I grow Swiss Chard in zone 7a. If I plant it in the spring, summer bugs devour it and the heat causes bitterness. I wait until early fall and the flavor improves tremendously in the cool weather. During winter, it must be under cover or the leaves will freeze down to the roots but it recovers and flourishes in the early spring. There are many different varieties and flavors.
I use it in salads, stir fries and can it for one son who loves it in frittatas.
Jeannie
Intersting about the heat. Mine doesn’t go bitter even at 115°F. It’s the one green I count on in summer.
My chard has always become bitter in the heat; in fact, watching you grow it over the years is what inspired me to plant it. I have tried about five different varieties. I just assumed you liked it a tad bit bitter just as some people like turnip greens, mustard greens and hot peppers (ugh!). Now I realize it isn’t true. It must be my soil, lack of water or a certain nutrition, or something else. Usually, the devouring insects move in from the field beside the garden, shred the leaves and I stop dealing with the plants. I don’t like spraying leaves that we are going to eat. I’m baffled. Perhaps I should try growing it again?
Jeannie
I am growing Fordhook Giant. I wonder if it’s the variety, or the soil pH. It’s not bitter in summer for me.
By contrast, arugula becomes extra bitter in the heat. It will grow here in summer, but I won’t eat it then.
Thank you for the information. Lots to learn.
Brandy, I am THRILLED that you are back. I wish you and your family a happy, healthy 2026.
Thank you so much!
It is a winter wonderland here in MN which makes your photos of flowers and produce especially striking.
On the frugal front:
We hosted HH’s family for a casual Christmas potluck and afternoon of reindeer games. I gathered all the disposal holiday plates, napkins and plastic silverware leftover from previous gatherings and used them up.
The next day was a blizzard. Since my mom and her husband live nearby, they came over. We pulled out all the leftover holiday food and treats for lunch and played mahjong. It was a fun snow day.
We completed holiday returns and exchanges before the return windows closed. We also did a little holiday clearance shopping. I purchased gift tag stickers, gift bags, gift boxes, a gift set of two bottles of body wash for everyday use, and bags of snickerdoodle and cafe mocha flavored Hershey Kisses to use as Valentine’s gifts for DD2’s roommates.
We redeemed hotel reward points to stay at a beautiful hotel on New Year’s Eve.
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year Everybody!
We saved money by only buying fresh milk, cream and eggs at Kroger. Almond milk was on the list for me but it was $1.25 higher than at Aldi’s which is 20 miles away. I refused to pay that and instead will rotate from my emergency supply. The next time we are close to an Aldi’s, I will load up. Bananas were on clearance for $.45 and I got 3 bunches. My husband put the bag on a table while unloading and they fell hard to the floor. They were purchased for fresh eating but were too smashed so were dehydrated before bruising.
It has been dark and dreary outside so a candle is being lit for cheer. When one burns down too far to use, I chop the leftovers into small pieces, put them in a cup that sits beside the burning candle. The pieces are added to the new one to extend the burn time. I purchased a big box of the world’s ugliest Christmas candles from an estate sale last summer for $.25 each (ugly colors and gaudy designs). They had been purchased years ago for craft projects and were then shoved in a back closet. The family was begging people to take them. I reasoned any light in the dark is good and am glad to burn these.
We ate from the pantry and I rotated out a quart jar of okra pickled for frying from 2021. It was an experiment but I was the only one who liked it. They remind you of the sea salt and vinegar potato chips which no one else in my family likes. I drain the liquid, mix in two beaten eggs, add rice flour (which I grind. Wheat flour can be used but the rice flour is crispier), then fry until crisp; air fry leftovers and they are extremely crisp. It is a good option to store okra during a bumper crop year when the freezer is full. Next time I will do pints because I end up wolfing down the whole pan. Recipe: Old Alabama Gardener https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcaABHSCjUM
I poured the grease from baked hamburgers into the frying pan of okra then strained that oil for later use. It is frugal but I “claim” to do it for extra flavor.
A bag of pure essential oils was purchased from an estate sale with a bottle of camphor oil and I decided to research it. (Think Vicks Vapor Rub and Bengay.) My husband began using it and has noticed a difference so I searched for more on Amazon. It seems you don’t get good prices until about the 4th page. The algorithm is getting tricky. They offered 30 days of free prime and I took it. We have learned if you wait long enough, they will keep making the offer.
Grabbed our turn for the hot spot from the library and received extra days due to the New Year’s Day holiday closures. With free Amazon Prime and the free hot spot internet data, we are going crazy watching movies in HD no less! Our New Year’s celebration was spent at home watching free movies with free internet! Can’t get much more frugal that that!
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
http://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/
Hello friends, happy New Year! I wish you peace of mind and much happiness in 2026.
I worked today. It does better for my mental health to do so rather than keep logging in to see whether the “new year baby” photos have arrived from each hospital for me to post on social media. I’ll use my PTO another day. Part of my day was spent reviewing tasks that I’d have to go into the office to do (printing, using multiple monitors for some year-end reporting, etc.) so I can minimize trips to the office.
I am planning to be at a conference later this month and booked the hotel yesterday. I used Upromise, so about $25 will be rebated to my daughter’s 529 for school soon. I price-checked options for hotels and parking costs and sprung for the travel insurance vs. the higher hotels.com late cancellation cost in the event of snowstorm or sickness.
***By the way, PLEASE take care of your health. Working on an article for the hospital this week, I learned that flu deaths have doubled from this time last year. 🙁 ***
Had a quite NYE at home. Working on putting away holiday bags and wrapping for 2026. Cashed in some employee program points for e-gift cards.
Signed up for a yearly subscription for trashie, which is a textile and electronics recycling program. The year cost was the cost of typically what we’d spend for one batch of bags. Since two households can be on it, I’ve added a close friend who has participated before. Yes, there is a cost, but I feel better about recycling what I can’t donate, this includes any shipping costs, and I can earn back gift cards to help offset some of it.
I signed up for some free virtual yoga and tai chi classes on Eventbrite to encourage activity during the winter.
That’s all for now. I’m taking notes of all your ideas for the new year!
Robbie
Love your garden produce pictures! I’m hoping for a larger garden this year.
I saved by:
– Collecting items for a garage sale
– sold a dresser on facebook
– composting
– eating mostly at home
Lovely, lovely photos! And what your garden produced is amazing. What a blessing.
I got a coupon for $1 off gas. I haven’t been able to fill up for under $2 in awhile. It was $1.79/gallon.
I returned so many things that I’d ordered. It’s not needed and I wanted a smaller Christmas. I didn’t buy anything for myself for Christmas. I wrapped everything in reusable fabric bags. I didn’t go to any parties or gatherings. Spent time with family and wished a few neighbors a Merry Christmas. I’ve been home most of the time, reading books, watching shows and cleaning. My daughter wanted a nativity set and I found one on the Buy Nothing Group to give her.
We bought a new house a few miles from where we live. Our home now is smaller and because of health issues, I need everything to be on one level. We bought a rambler that needs some work. We own our home, put a large down payment and will slowly move over. Then sell our home and pay off the balance. We’ve already had 3 offers and it’s not on the market yet. It’s a hard move because we’ve lived here 25 years.
Happy New Year!
I’ve just googled “sweater tights” because I’ve never heard that term before. Fascinating!
I have spent a lot of money, trying to save money long term!
We send about 15 Christmas cards a year. I bought 80 on super sale after Christmas, so that should do us for a few years.
I bought lots of Christmas food on sale and froze it: salmon sides for 50% off, hams 1/3 off, bottled lemonade 50% off (we serve it to guests)…
I also bought some more expensive tights for my daughter in the hope that they will last longer. I have given up mending them as they just get holes again the very next day once they’ve started to wear through. I am so tired of buying tights! And socks! I have never found a brand that lasts any better than the others for my children. I don’t know what they do to them! But we have to wear them for about 9 months of the year here, so they do get a lot of wear.
I also have been looking for a particular pair of sandals for about two years. It’s to replace a twenty year old pair that are throughly broken, but I love them so much I wanted the same ones. You can’t buy them new in the UK. I’m not sure how I managed to buy the originals over here! But I finally found some on eBay and had them shipped from America and they arrived and are perfect! Here’s to the next twenty years of sandals! (As we can only wear them for 2-3 months a year here and I go barefoot in the garden so only wear them Out out, they last for ages!)
My challenge for the next month is to not spend too much money on food but to eat what we have. Also to eat the kale and lettuce from the garden, which is still going strong despite a light dusting of overnight snow! The lettuce is I think called All The Year Round and I have been truly amazed at how it has done in our southern England climate.
I have sweater tights and then the warmer fleece-lined tights. My sweater tights are cotton, but I have seen wool ones for sale from influencers in the EU. You can probably get wool tights there.
Happy New Year!
We enjoyed a quiet new year’s eve at home, as a couple of us were under the weather and one daughter was babysitting.
We wrote our thank you notes by dividing a regular Christmas card into 8 sections: 1 for each person to write a short message.
I stayed home from the stores (mostly), instead of hitting up the Christmas clearance. There will be more sales next year.
I combined trips when going to another city to stop at our favorite feed store (cheaper and fresher feed), a consignment store where I sell misc items I pickup from Goodwill Outlet, plus I treated the kids to Fazoli’s (fast food Italian with unlimited breadsticks).
My daughter continues to use sale-priced ingredients I’ve stocked as she practices her fair entries. Poor thing, her pie crust may never be as perfect as my mom’s were, but my daughter is making progress!
We shared some baked goods with friends and neighbors.
I started a new Instagram account: frewgalfamily.htx. Hoping this gives me accountability in the new year!