I celebrated my 50th birthday this past week. My parents took me out to a very nice dinner. I wore a dress that I had purchased earlier this month at Ross for $17.
I enjoyed several meals outside in my garden.
I collected shower warm-up water in a bucket and used it to water potted plants in my garden.
I cut roses from my garden to enjoy inside. The ones above I brought into my sewing room to enjoy while I did some tailoring for someone.
I bought another tomato plant on sale for $4. I was able to overwinter some tomato plants, but not all, so this one will help. After seeing a chef post a photo of a 25 pound box of tomatoes for $128 later that day (up $12 from the previous week), I felt this purchase was truly a wise one. It also made me feel stronger than ever about how important it is to grow as much food as possible this year.
I studied French grammar using a free website (Kwiziq).
I studied Urdu grammar using YouTube videos (Learning Urdu with Sara).
I gave my youngest son a haircut. I’ve saved so much money over the years cutting everyone’s hair at home–including the gas to get to and from all the hair appointments we would have had! Plus, it saves so much time, in addition to money. I can cut a child’s hair and have it cleaned up in less time than it would take me to drive to the salon for a haircut.
The weather, after record heat 25°F above normal in March, has been oddly cooler than usual this month. I opened the doors and windows each morning to cool the house, and only rarely have needed to close them in the afternoons. My electric bill has reflected this.
I shopped a community garage sale and found a few small items for my home, as well as two items my friend wanted that I will gift to her.
What have you done to save money this past week?
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Hi Brandy and everyone
How nice that you were taken out to dinner by your parents for your birthday, hope you had lovely celebrations. Your outfit was very pretty.
Our weather has become warm quite early and we are needing to water the garden already. A friend gave us spare plants- red cabbage, Brussel sprouts and Savoy cabbage. We often swap spares. We used cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli from the garden. I sifted and spread home made compost on my cut flower bed and planted out seedlings. I cut iris, sweet rocket and catmint for the house and made the same bouquet to take as a hostess gift.
I prepped and froze some mushrooms which I wasn’t going to use up in time.
I have been making an extra effort to search for yellow sticker reduced price meat for the freezer.
A friend kindly gave us a garden swing for our granddaughter, their children have outgrown it.
Our SIL used to be an electrician and did some free electrical work for us. We look after our granddaughter one day a week.
I soaked the little metal scale catcher in the kettle in white vinegar till it was descaled.
I bought a brand new T shirt and cross body handbag in the charity shop along with a hanging organiser I’ve put in the hall for gloves and woolly hats. I’ve been looking for an organiser for a long, long time.
I batch cooked mini quiches for my granddaughter and vegetable curry. It’s good to have homemade ready meals in the freezer.
Thank you Brandy for reminding us we can make our lives beautiful for less.
Beautiful dress and Happy Birthday! The red roses are an amazing color, I would have been too distracted to stitch a straight line 😆
I cut Forget Me Nots from my yard for this week’s desk “bouquet”.
The food pantry I volunteer at had some expired produce (about 4lbs worth) I asked and was allowed to take it and add to my compost pile at home.
Said no to coffee and food dates with friends. Offered a walk date as an alternative and we enjoyed 3 miles on a nature trail.
Said yes to a garbage can to collect rain water in, a small metal trellis and bird feeder hook.
Hope everyone has a calm and productive week!
I rescued a lot of meat, including steaks, fish, chicken and pork sausage. I also rescued 10 eggs (a few were broken). Those were the proteins. I rescued a lot of vegetables, citrus, berries, apples and a pack of mushrooms along with tortilla chips and a large bag of cane sugar.
I went to a free community clothes swap and got 2 damaged sweaters to felt and turn into coasters or potholders.
At a church rummage sale, I went at the end when they were giving things away. I got some thread, a few kitchen items, two shirts, and some athletic socks.
I cooked all the meals at home and most of mine were with the rescued food.
Both vehicles needed repairs. One repair completed at home with parts ordered online. $65 in parts and it would have cost $1100 at a mechanic.
Got a second opinion on the other repair and saved nearly $5k. Both vehicles working properly and safely now.
I’m also the family barber/stylist!
I enrolled in a genetics course for free at the university as tuition is free for seniors. Yesterday I picked up 4 small containers of Greek yogurt, 10 lbs of grapes, 5 lbs of mandarins, 3 large red onions and 6 avocados for 16.85 on Flash Food. I dropped some grapes and oranges off for Ellie’s friend to enjoy too.
On the weekend I was pleased to see a local charity was giving away 80,000 lbs of potatoes free-I believe there was a long line up.
Gas has dropped as low as 1.37 per litre at Costco which is 20 cents a litre less than my local station.
When booking flights for my daughter I was able to use a $258 credit I received for using my new credit card. I also received a discounted companion fare which instead I turned into a 30% off coupon which I will redeem for the next flight.
Belated birthday greetings Brandy-I knew it was in late April but it has taken me this long to realize you share a birthday with my husband!
This past week has been super busy. We hired a local masonry company to reinforce our basement’s rock walls by replacing mortar in places that have eroded, replacing bricks and capping 4 of the chimneys on our roof and bricking in basement windows that we had boarded up. It meant moving most of our food storage shelves that contained our canned foods and kept us busy for a few weeks. But now the work is on the home stretch and once it is, we will take an inventory of everything we have stored. This will be a huge savings to us so that we know what we do or don’t need to preserve for next winter and also to make sure that we are intentionally using up what we have stored!
At the same time, we have found many Flashfood meat and produce deals that we have purchased for friends. This has been a real blessing for us and them!
Tomorrow I will be planting in my garden. This past week I used the Marivene method of cleaning out the beds- 1 bucket at a time. Hubs also bought a battery powered (he already had 2 of the batteries) mini tiller and we will be using that to dig in some compost after digging up weeds. We feel like tools that we will use often are a wise investment! There is also a snow blower tool that uses the same batteries that we will watch for a sale on and buy before summer is over.
We are worried about so many of you and your readers who are living in high drought areas. Ohio seems to be one of a small handful of states in the lower 48 that is not. We are praying for relief from the drought while we are trying to conserve water here.
By being more intentional about spending this month, we were able to put an extra $2000 into our savings accounts . We have turned it into a game to see how much we can have left over after all our bills are paid each month and then add it 8th savings. It is much easier to do with just the 2 of us rather than when it was 13 of us. I have been cutting back on meals we have so that we aren’t overloaded with more leftovers than we can eat. I’ve learned a lot from a YouTube channel: Stacey’s Simple Meals . Lots of great ideas for families with kids at home as well as several series of videos tailored to singles or couples on scaling meals down easily and even making some ahead! We’ve tried several and been pleased!
Remarkably, my quilting business continues to flourish and is adding a regular amount to both our budget and my daughter/business partner’s budget as well. We each average 5-7 quilts quilted up for clients each week with an average of 6-8 quilts in queue as we finish those! We are extremely grateful!
We are grateful for all your support and ideas as we learn so many good ideas from you and your community! Thank you!
Gardenpat in Ohio
Happy birthday and you look beautiful!!!! I flew out West for my yearly trip to visit grandchildren and their parents. While it is expensive to fly, it is still cheaper to drive four hours to Atlanta and fly out of Atlanta than it is to fly out of our local airport and then do a connection to Atlanta. I stayed at their house so no hotel bill. I did buy groceries for all of us so no eating out. My son in law is a wonderful chef and he made delicious ground turkey tacos. I got my exercise after my flight back searching for my car for 45 minutes at the Atlanta airport….lol. I had taken a picture of the zone and spot but the airport parking deck in Atlanta is HUGE. I stopped at Aldi on the way home (barely made it before they closed for the day) and bought spinach, mushrooms, sourdough bread, bagels, grape tomatoes, an avocado, a large cucumber, a bag of chips that I really didn’t need, peanut butter, honey, for $20.58 including the grocery tax. I think next month we may not have any grocery taxes….I read that somewhere. I came home and made The Tightwad Gazette lentil casserole. It is just 3/4 cup of uncooked lentils, half a cup of uncooked brown rice (I used jasmine rice), spices, garlic, half of a chopped onion, six cups of chicken broth cooked covered in oven for an hour and a half at 300 degrees. The last 30 minutes you can add cheese. I also added mushrooms and spinach. Add salt as needed after it is cooked. It is an easy “bean” recipe that does not require presoaking. I have discovered I really like using lentils and this recipe tastes much better than a lot of lentil recipes. I noticed it received a lot of high ratings from lentil haters…..lol. It will be a really “watery” casserole when you put it in the oven, but the chicken broth is what cooks the lentils and rice, a “slow and low temp” recipe. The covered part is necessary to make it taste right. I sometimes only cook mine for an hour to an hour and ten minutes because my oven seems to cook fast. I am just walking in the neighborhood.
Happy Birthday! We have made 8 meals out of 1.5 # of pork. We bought the loan on sale and cut it up. We are finishing corn from last season that has been in the freezer. I made cottage cheese from milk on sale. A 1/2 gallon gave me a packed pint. I’ve been making sour cream as well. I can make 6 ounces at a time. Which works better for us. I’ve made almost all of our bread since the start of the year. The only loaves I purchesd were rye and a three pack of sourdough boules for$ 1.67. I won’t buy them again, as I’ve figured out I can split my fermented dough into smaller amounts and use smaller Dutch ovens. I sold my 9 quart Dutch oven to a friends daughter who has a family of six. I used the money to buy a 4 quart Dutch oven on sale which works better for us. So enjoy seeing everyone’s posts. Thanks for bringing this blog back, it’s very much appreciated.
Kathleen, thanks to your comment, I looked up how to make cottage cheese. I am excited about this, as I can never get through a large container – which seems like my only option to purchase. Thanks!
Happy birthday Brandy. You look truly elegant in the lovely dress.
Your garden and photos are beautiful as usual. You are so right about growing food, I’m encouraging as many people as I can and giving them seeds to get started. We hope to move later this year so I am concentrating on all the fruit and berry bushes I have, so they will be productive.
To save money I’ve been making soups with left overs and rediscovering my love of stir-fry meals. Quick to make and low on energy consumption. Repairing clothes is second nature now, made some new pyjama tops from t.shirts that had stretched, added a little lace just to make them prettier. Blessings to you and your family.
The garden where I volunteer had our annual fundraising plant sale. We sell all our veggie starts for $3, which is such a bargain. I already am harvesting more food from my garden than I ever have. Yesterday I picked a pound of kale (a fraction of what I have growing!) and 2 pounds of rhubarb stalks (weight was the stalks only). I have a recipe for rhubarb jam which I’ll be making. Our plum tree died last year so I don’t have as much jam stored. Thankfully one pluot tree is productive and the second will be productive next year.
1. Harvested 2 handfuls of raspberries. These have not had any city water (paid for water) and the starts were free, so this is truly free food
2. Picked up a table and a workbench from the curb. Already listed on FB marketplace.
3. Put some stuff at my curb for free, hoping to avoid a trip to donate at thrift store, which would save me gas.
4. Loving the weather of about 70°. Warm enough for good laundry drying, great for my plants and for just sitting out and enjoying. No heat needed in the house, a considerable savings these days
5. We still have gas money left in our envelope, which feels like a miracle right now as gas is almost $5.50 a gallon.
I have also been cutting the family’s hair forever and keep my hair in a style that’s easy for husband to trim. He used to color my hair before I let it go natural during covid.
I have started tomato and broccoli plants in egg cartons. Also have some cherry and Italian (ox heart) tomatoes on my overwintered plants. It is slow and not much to show for it but always fun to have a little harvest from time to time. I decided to cave and bought a good supply of sirloin steak when it was available for $10. a pound. We really enjoyed our first meal with 5 more in the freezer. We can afford anything we want but have a stubbornly frugal mindset.
Your birthday dress is so cute. Glad you had a special day of it. You are blessed to have your parents near; as they are also with you and your oasis next door. Have a wonderful year ahead.
What a lovely photo of you in your garden and happy birthday once again. I think you can never celebrate too much or for too long. We have birthday months in our family so little acts of kindness and love can happen throughout the month rather than everything being focused on one day. I like seasons for everything! My oldest son completed the classroom and behind-the-wheel portion of his drivers education class last week. That will save us a lot of money on gas as the driving school is almost one hour away from our home. But, it had to be done and I made the most of it by hanging out and reading during his class or doing errands in that area where I seldom go. One benefit was visiting a grocery store that is on the expensive side but has great markdowns such as 25 cents/pound bananas and bakery sourdough bread for $2/loaf (and they are HUGE loaves.) I bought a few pounds of bananas and made banana bread with them which my family loves. In a continued effort to find savings in our regular spending, I cut another $35 from our monthly bills bringing the total for this month to $139/month in savings. This will help when my youngest son gets his braces on next month and we have two in braces at the same time (at least till the end of the year.) My cats have turned their noses up at duck eggs in the past but I kept presenting them and now they seem to like them. I am not sure why the change but I am not asking questions. This will help save a lot on cat food as I can cut the amount of purchased food they eat while still ensuring they get all they need to be healthy. My dog has always loved them but her gut tells us she can only have them so often. I will not elaborate. 😆 I also found a new to me brand of chicken grain that looks identical to the one I have been feeding them but costs about 12 cents per pound less. Every bit helps and everyone on this property needs to economize whether you have feathers, fur or not. 😁 My husband read about a new program geared toward reimbursing Hurricane Helene affected property owners for loss of timber. I called our local Forest Service office for information and now am in the process of filling out the application. We shall see….I brought home leftover food from a reception my choir had for our choral interns from the local university to wish them well on exams. I am the only choir member with teenage boys at the moment and they all assume (rightly) that I can’t feed them enough so I always get the leftovers. We have enjoyed them for 3 days now and are grateful. Looking forward, I was asked to perform as a guest soloist again this summer at a local summer parish church. I did it once last summer and it paid really well plus I enjoyed working with the music director. I hope to be able to do it more than once this summer. I never fail to pinch myself and feel so grateful when I get paid to sing or act on stage. Feels like being paid to play and I know only too well that being paid (even a small amount) to do something you love can be difficult to achieve. I try to find those moments off the stage, too, where I am deep in the middle of something and my mind pauses long enough to think, “This is amazing!” I can’t begin to express how contentment and gratitude helps me only a daily basis. And one thing I am grateful for is this blog and all the kind people who come here every week to encourage and share. Wishing all of you a lovely week!
Hi Mountain Mama Dawn! I was wondering if you would share the chicken feed you found? We are finally embarking on that adventure. It’s all new to us. Our DIL’s sister is giving us eight layers that are already laying as they are downsizing their flock (over 100 hens). We had a load of wood chips delivered for $25, and when I say load…well, that is an understatement. We are using them in the gardens, but there is so much and said sister suggested using them for the chickens. My husband wanted to know if this will become his chore now, but my son said it will be their chore and we just get the benefit. That made him very happy!
Here, people mulch 3 inches deep with wood chips to reduce water usage. I’m looking into prices this week; I haven’t wanted to use them, but with Lale Mead hitting even lower levels and the possibility of serious shortages later, I need to try to lower my evaporation rate and conserve water even more.
Your flowers are beautiful as always. You look beautiful in your dress and how nice to be took to dinner. My husband and I went out to eat for my birthday Saturday evening after helping with a scholarship fishing tournament. The tournament raised $2500.oo for scholarships for graduating seniors. Over the past nine years they have raised over $30,000 in scholarship money. It was kinda rainey and damp but we still helped sell to go plates. We received 6 squash plants that my step daughter raised from seeds and didn’t have room for. She also gave me some sweet potato vines, a flower pot to put them and a trellis. Her in laws sent us 4 dozen of eggs and we have been using them nearly every meal this last week. My husband and I continue to walk every day. We received heavy wind and rain last night and more expected tonight. The rain was good for our garden. Last week I was told to find a local beekeeper to help and I have located one.
Yay, you found a local beekeeper! Will be eager to hear about your adventures in beekeeping. The world needs more of us and I love to encourage others to get involved with honeybees. Have fun!
Grateful for the ‘bucket of weeds a day’ I learned from comments here. It keeps me motivated now I can’t work more than an hour at a time in the garden.
We could not work out an efficient way to combine our more distant errands (very necessary now fuel has exceeded £1.50 a litre). Decided that none of the trips were urgent so just drove to a nearby National trust property to walk – free as we’re life members. We did stop at charity shop warehouse on the way home since we were in the area. Bought a beautiful crystal fruit bowl for £3.50 to replace an inherited one which was damaged.
Continuing to cook all meals at home, pack lunches for work and am baking more.
Hi Brandy,
Happy belated birthday. Your dress is très chic.
I’m enjoying the oranges and grapes that “I” got a good deal on and gave some to me.
I have been watching BBC about the King and Queen’s visit to Washington. I enjoyed King Charles III’s speech to Congress.
I was surprised in your post to see that a 25 pound box of tomatoes was selling for $128.00 –– in fact I had to read that twice. Are those locally grown tomatoes or tomatoes from Mexico? My understanding is that Mexico has diverted much of its tomato crop to Canada instead of the U.S., due to tariffs by the U.S. $128 seems unconscionably high but perhaps that includes the tariff. That price is more than $5 per pound. I guess it’s a combination of things – the freezing weather in Florida, the inflated cost of fuel for transportation, the 17% tariff, plus a few other factors such as the lack of fertilizer shipped through the Strait of Hormuz. Good thing you grow your own. You can get half a bushel (25 pounds of Roma tomatoes) for $15.99 here. And that’s about $11.70 US dollars. so much for affordability. I myself have given up growing big tomatoes as I don’t have enough sunlight.
I am growing small cherry tomatoes that are yellow and that did really well last year. (except for the thieving squirrels). I hope the price of tomatoes comes down for you all. Not everyone has a garden.
I don’t know where those tomatoes were grown, but it didn’t look like local produce. It was a post from a chef and she said on top of the price, half the tomatoes were bad!
I don’t see prices that high here, but I can see them easily becoming that way with worldwide fertilizer shortages, so I am glad to be growing as much as I can.
The cherry tomatoes do best for me here as well; large varieties are not recommend by the extension service. They tend to crack and rot before they are ripe in our heat.
Hello, frugal friends! It has been an uneventful week of which I am very grateful. We continue to do the usual frugal things so that we can be comfortable financially and enjoy special things. Mr. Fix It and I went out on a date to a fun restaurant in the next county . It’s a beautiful, relaxing drive higher into the Appalachians. It’s only about a 25 minute drive but we took our hybrid car to save gas. This restaurant is in a tiny village overlooking the New River. Once upon a long time ago the building was the general store. Now it is the restaurant. The food was amazing but the price was definitely a splurge. It was an excellent way to recharge after a long week of teaching and less expensive than a therapist or massage.:) I did little grocery shopping, but was able to find a few good deals. I ran into Kroger to get bananas and also found in their clearance aisle 2 jars of spaghetti sauce marked down to .53 each. I bought both and will donate both jars to the USPS food drive in two weeks. Those were the only 3 things I bought there. Then I ran into Food Lion and got 2 12 count rolls of toilet paper (The big rolls) on sale for 9>99 each, but they had a promotional sale plus a digital coupon for a total of $6 off for each. so only paid 3.99 each! I also had a digital coupon for a free box of Capri Sun drinks, which we do not drink, but I will also donate this to the food drive. Finally I had a $3 Shop and Earn coupon off my total bill, which basically paid for my eggs. I paid very little for food last week so that was a win. Our electric bill came in for the past month and it is $100 less than the month before. We are happy. I am still getting lettuce and spinach from the garden. The asparagus is pretty much done, but we do get the occasional stalk now and then. I have been making lots of spinach and asparagus quiche to eat and freeze. That is about all for now. Blessings to the all my frugal friends from the Appalachian mountains of southwest Virginia.
Hello from Washington State!
I absolutely love your blog. It’s such a lovely space to learn frugality, while making a beautiful life. You are truly inspiring.
I cut lilacs to make my house feel beautiful. The fragrance is intoxicating. I am also planting twice as much as I did last year, along with adding a plum tree and blackberry bushes.
Food is crazy expensive in WA state and gas is $5.05 a gallon.
We have also added lots of legumes to stretch our meals.
I make our bread from scratch using a bread machine for the first rise and switching to second rise and baking in the oven. It saves me time.
I will can our fruit and produce when it comes. Lots of work but so worth it in the winter.
I love this community for like minded people. I’m considered an oddity here, as most people just pay the prices and think it’s too much work. I would rather save the money, because you never know what coming next.
Happy 50th Brandy!
Happy birthday! My 50th was this month also.
Received a $25 gift card to Barnes and Noble.
Redeemed some birthday freebies; cookies, Jimmy Johns sandwich, chicken sandwich, drinks, brownies, donuts, pastries, and more.
Hubby got a truck bed cover put on my truck for my birthday.
I signed up for Walmart Plus for half price being a student.
Borrowed an audiobook from Libby and book from the library.
A few weeks ago, a friend purchased some tomato soup for me at Costco. It was delicious. She told me they had marked them down to under $5 for 6 servings(frozen) so I purchased 6 boxes. Since I am the only one that will eat it, it will last forever.
We’ve been staying home as much as possible because of gas prices. Hubby drives my truck whenever I am not at work because it gets better gas mileage.
Not so frugal: We got hit by thieves. I think we are up to $3,000 in stolen tools and equipment. Since a lot of it is specialty(hubby is a mason) it’s so pricey to replace. We ended up putting in cameras and we’ll unfortunately have to slowly replace stuff as it’s needed. (We didn’t have anything on our business insurance to replace due to theft, and property crimes are not a priority here, so it’s pretty much a lost cause to ever find out who did it)
April – So sorry to hear of the theft. My FIL is a retired mason and I know how valuable the tools of the trade are in that business. Since the items were somewhat unique maybe it will be noticeable to someone else in the trade if they end up being sold or used elsewhere? I am sure this must be very discouraging but I hope you will be able to rebuild as time passes.
Happy Birthday. You look beautiful.
We took friends out to eat to celebrate their upcoming 50th anniversary. We went at lunch because they have a great lunch special(appetizer and meal for $29)We also insisted that they get a dessert. They were very grateful. By going at lunch we saved over $100 for the same food. We drove them so we saved them gas.
I garbage picked more wood logs for our fire pit. I refuse to pay for them.
I got a check for $35 for doing surveys.
I put all of my receipts and my friend’s receipts into Fetch, Ibotta and Receipt Hog.
I got a prescription free with delivery thanks to Hubby’s great health plan.
I drove my friend and I to the library to play Bunco. We had fun even though we didn’t win. I picked up a tumbler from my last class. It is a birthday present for my mom. I got a free Bridgeton puzzle from the puzzle shelf. I will give it to my daughter for her upcoming birthday. She loves the show. I took out magazines and picked up a book that was on hold.
Hubby and I made a triple batch of ham and lentil soup. My sister gave me 1 bone and my neighbors gave me the other 2. I gave my neighbors 2 jar of soup and my friend a jar. I froze 4 jars. My friend gave me 2 rainchecks for the free soy milk from our local grocery store. 1 was hers and 1 was her moms. They don’t drink soy milk. I used 1 when I went to get this weeks free loaf of bread.
I made banana walnut chip muffins with frozen bananas. I made a batch of asparagus, cheddar egg bites for easy breakfasts. All of them were made in silicone muffin liners. I cooked 6 potatoes in the oven while the oven was on too.
My pea plants are all doing great. I have so many baby lettuce plants that self seeded from last year. I weeded and thinned them out. My scallions also self seeded. I even have a few pumpkin plants that popped up. I’m thinking the squirrels helped with those. I gave some of my extra pea seeds to my friend’s daughter. She wanted to try to plant them.
I took 6 cardboard boxes from my friend. I open them and lay them in my garden to help control weeds. She is going to save me more as she gets packages regularly.
I made a double batch of the dogs food so it will last all week.
Laundry was hung up. I love this nice weather. It has rained several nights so I haven’t had to water the garden. The heat has been off. I open windows during the day.
Hubby ate 2 breakfasts for free at work last week. He drinks the free coffee there everyday. They also have free vending machines so he usually gets a free drink and snack everyday.
Hubby and I finished cleaning out our closets. I am down 35 pounds. I donated 5 bags of clothes and shoes to our church. Our closets are so clean and organized. We did keep some stained t-shirts to make into rags.
What a lovely dress! Happy belated birthday.
It has been a busy week – still dealing with an elevator in my building that keeps malfunctioning – making it very difficult for shopping and doing laundry etc. It put me a bit behind with restocking – and frustrating when certain things were on sale. Still, managed to get a few things – mostly non-food – garbage bags, zip locs, plastic wrap & foil, along with TP, PT and kleenex – all things that I needed to restock after the Winter and items that they say may be in short supply since a lot of them rely on petroleum. I also bought 3 packs of chicken thighs, which were finally back in stock and at a decent price!
Not being able to do laundry because of the broken elevator (4 flights down) meant I saved ($2.50/load for both washing & drying) – I was lucky in that I was up to date on towels, sheets and kitchen linens so managed with just doing hand laundry – where there’s a will – there’s a way!
My only meal out was a breakfast with two friends – we’d been trying to get together for a couple of months but something always came up so it was worth it – and breakfast is probably the cheapest option these days. Otherwise I made all meals at home and took snacks or lunch to the office as needed.
I also continued with decluttering and donated a lot of costume jewelry to an event we are hosting at my church. I took 4 bags of books in for our Spring book sale and I’ve got another bag of odds & ends that I’m going to put down in the laundry room for people to help themselves – its better that someone gets a use of things rather than it gathering dust on a shelf in my apt. & taking up space.
I will mail my taxes tomorrow – have to pay a bit extra – but at least it’s all done! There is paperwork all over my dining table at the moment so it will be a relief to get things tidied up tomorrow.
Have a good week everyone.
Happy Birthday! Lovely dress! and I love seeing pictures of your garden, so inspiring!
1. Got free paper from my mother-in-law
2. Got free mulch
3. Got free plants
4. Saving some of our RO waste water to water plants. I also live in a dry climate and we’re watering our garden twice a day right now!
5. Found a replacement pair of jeans for my daughter on ebay.
More details here: https://practicalwalk.com/2026/04/27/frugal-five-free-mulch/
Brandy, Happy Birthday! You look quite elegant in your fancy dress. Your garden looks like a calm oasis in the middle of the desert. All of your hard work has paid off. Every tomato plant is a good investment.
These are some of the ways we have saved money over the last two weeks as we continue to dig out from under all the breakdowns we recently experienced.
*The zero turn mower has been leaking oil and my husband tried adding more. A bubble formed deep inside and he couldn’t fix it. He called Kubota and it was going to cost $450 “just” to be picked up and $400 to “just” do a diagnostic! He said “no.” After searching, he found a local mechanic who knew what was wrong and said the repairs would start at $1,000 due to the price of parts and the extensive labor. My husband said “no.” He continued to add oil and after two weeks, it slowly filled and began running. We paid $5,000 for the mower new and now it sells for $10,00. Getting a new one is out of the question. At some point, it will have to be repaired but for now we will limp along.
*Since our car wouldn’t start we waited at home until the weekend so my son could drive my husband to get a new battery. The same battery that used to cost $75 is now $165. We saved a $100 tow bill. I cooked my awesome son a week’s worth of meals to thank him for helping us. I used food from the pantry that needed rotating out. He was thrilled to not have to cook.
*My husband searched on youtube and learned how to repair his broken push mower. The new part cost $18.
*We were able to rent the hot spot from the library twice last billing cycle and slid in under our maximum internet data usage limit. (We live in the country and don’t have any internet choices.) Hubby has been watching many news videos and I have been researching money saving ideas.
*A few weeks ago I loaded up on frozen peas at Kroger for $.88. Each 10 oz bag fills two pint jars. A $.10 one-use rubber ring was added to a used metal lid so it only cost ten cents to process each jar. I can’t eat store-bought canned peas because they have added sugar. It wasn’t a huge saving but at least I have added thirty jars to my pantry.
*We are spending as much energy as possible planting the garden. I purchased very few new seeds and have been using up a box of old seeds. There were ten different varieties of bok choy! They all taste the same no matter what the seed catalogs say. The winter spinach has begun bolting so some will be for seeds and the rest will be frozen or canned. A few of the winter onions have been harvested, lettuce is ready, and strawberries are ripening.
*The biggest cost saver was visiting an estate sale of a hoarder. It was eye-opening, sad (to me), and sobering. It is one thing to see it on a television show but another to experience it in person. We went on the last day of a four day sale and it was still shocking. We found a brand new dishwasher in the unopened box for $100! It retails for $600. I purchased a Nesco electric canner still in the unopened box for $60 (original price $150). I kept looking at the mountain of stuff in the house thinking about all the money wasted. I bought quite a bit but it was all on my wish list or will be gifted.
*The ways we saved money with the new dishwasher: We strapped it on our cargo carrier and slowly drove 40 miles home. It drug on every speed bump but we saved renting a uhaul and the $100 delivery fee charged by stores. We used the cargo carrier to take the old machine to the dump which saved the $50 disposal fee. My husband watched videos and learned how to install it saving an installation fee. It had a stainless steel finish but I prefer it to match my other white appliances. I watched videos on how best to paint it, purchased a $6.99 spray can of Rustoleum appliance epoxy, and did it myself. The floor under the cabinet below the dishwasher was stained due to leaks. I cleaned and resealed it with an old can of paint. The brick floor in front of the dishwasher was also damaged. I used a variety pack of acrylic paint purchased on clearance from an art store years ago and was able to mix the color to match the other bricks. It was sealed with an old can of polyurethane.
It has taken us two weeks to do all the tasks with the dishwasher. We haven’t rushed but have been careful since it is new skills we are both learning. As my husband was moving the machine into the cabinet, the support leg tore into the freshly repaired brick floor leaving a bad scratch horrifying him. I saw it and shrugged. I now know how to repair the floor and it will take less than 15 minutes. Patiently waiting for it to dry will be the hard part. Skill learned!
Jeannie@GetMeToTheCountry
http://getmetothecountry.blogspot.com/
Jeannie, my fellow Tennessean, I just love you! You are a mighty woman! A wonderful example of grit and determination! Have a wonderful day!
CherylB, Fellow Mighty Tennessean: well, today this Tennessean (speaking of myself) was whupped (southern slang for whipped). A monthly trip to Aldi’s was enough to make me quake in my boots! The price increases! Oh my! We filled up the gas tank and the cans for the mowers. OUCH! Then we headed straight home. Hubby said it was the shortest and most expensive date he has ever taken me on. We aren’t leaving the house again. It is too expensive.
Jeannie
Jeannie, I agree with CherylB! You are quite an inspiration! My husband and son have been doing a lot of new projects and repairs by watching YouTube videos. My son took my husband’s vehicle apart simply by watching videos, searching for the coolant leak (mechanic wanted $4000 and it would have been all for naught as my son discovered it was a cracked engine block; the car isn’t even worth that much!). I have to say that I need to step up in these departments. It is so easy to just buy a replacement, but I am trying to rethink every possible purchase. We have had a lot of outlay with this new property, most of which will pay for itself in the long run, or was absolutely necessary. Still, money doesn’t grow on trees!
Got my root canal on Monday. Bc it abscessed and turned into an emergency it was fully covered by insurance (though I don’t recommend that for cost savings). As such I didn’t talk to my sister on her Monday birthday, but will on Wednesday for mine. They didn’t finish the root canal so will have to go back. I got a temporary filling till then, which is surprisingly hot pink in color.
My niece sent me a gift card for my birthday. Today was first day in a week I wasn’t in pain and had daily out of the house tasks, so took a day of rest and listened to a library book. Tomorrow I plan to change out my everyday dishes for Spring with new to me desert rose Franciscan ware. Changing out my kitchen cabinet with thrifted/good dishes seasonally forces me to use special occasion dishes, making every day special. Fancy tea party birthday lazy breakfast in bed for one on my antique tray with new dishes/tea cup/saucer, homemade jam and english muffins planned.
Debating planting a garden. I’ll redo my herb garden, but with such a low snow pack this year I expect water to be scarce. I’m not sure a garden would offset the water bill given it’s just me, but I’ve read tomatoes are expected to rise 30%, so still may put some in.
The weather is currently glorious, so can hang laundry to dry. No heat or air costs yet, the sweet spot on hvac costs. I got 6 artichokes for the neighbors dinner last week I didn’t end up making, so now that I can eat again, and love artichokes, will trim stems, put in water in fridge to make them last so I can eat. Still harvesting from my meyer lemon, which is established enough I never have to water.
Hope everyone has a good week!
This week I house sat for my daughter. I enjoyed using her washer and dryer to wash our winter bedding. Sadly her refrigerator contained no leftovers for me. I bought a few random markdowns at Kroger and made egg roll in a bowl. I ate that for several meals and didn’t buy takeout. I used an online code to buy a free movie ticket. I paid a $3.00 service charge but that was much cheaper than a $19.00 ticket. I’m going by myself as it’s a movie sugar cookie will not like. The kid and I are going on a trip this weekend. I’ve used every trick in my book of knowledge to get the best deals. I may need to take my dog to the vet. That unexpected visit will likely be $400.00 . It’s definitely not planned but I’m grateful I can pay it . Each week I look at our local bin auctions online. As the auction is starting to wind down, I check the items that have not sold. I stick to the auction where bids start at $1.00 . I buy items that we might want or need. But my objective is to collect items we may need in our home. As I continue to have mobility issues , I think about safety items to enhance my life. I have bought a couple canes , a bathtub chair , and safety bars for the house. I love the bar I’ve placed on the bathtub and on the side of my bed. These items all range upwards to 100.00. Being able to buy things for 2 to 3 dollars is a blessing. Brandys recent post about the toilet parts reminded me of this. I also have bought several toilet parts for my house. I bought a new tub faucet too. I have designated bins in my bathroom closet to keep track of these items. I had to explain to my son that the dollar or two I spend is so much better than paying full price when I will surely need to replace them. I am hoping to buy 2 chair height toilets for the house. The auction frequently has these items. It will require me to go preview the items prior to the auction ending but I may get a good deal. Meanwhile , I’m happy I can still travel. I fell at my daughters. I ended up with a cantaloupe size bruise on my waistline. Once again I’m happy no broken bones or damage to the organs underneath the bruise. As cautious as I am, it’s always the simple things that make me fall. Happy Birthday Brandy. You are so beautiful and never seem to age.
Happy Birthday! Your flowers are beautiful, and I’ll bet your jasmine smells wonderful!
I just purchased some pasta on flash food for 1.14 per 750 gram package which seemed reasonable. The same brand was on sale last week for $1 per 500 gram package and I couldn’t find it. Perhaps things happen for a reason as I got a better deal this week. For any Canadian readers that are first time home buyers I just learned that there is a $1500 tax credit allowed.
I went to a free program about pollinators at the library and got some free wildflower seeds. Unfortunately, I think they ordered them from some faraway place. I know some will grow around here, but don’t think Evening Primrose will, and had never heard of Farewell to Spring, which I picked for the name; they are native to California. Still, either I will grow something new, have no luck, or start a new invasive species in my area…
When the speaker was talking about bees, (4000 species in my Midwestern state, many endangered, though not honeybees), I asked about “bee houses”, which seem to be kind of a new thing in the garden world, a little house with hollow sticks. She said they can be helpful, but have to be cleaned out every year. It easier to just leave sticks, especially hollow milkweed stalks, on the ground. Cleaning the bee house made me think of my father clearing out the purple martin house each year, not a chore he liked.
Cleaned out the linen closet, pulled a lot of worn sheets and pillow cases I will put out for free for the city-wide yard sale this week. I hope someone can use them for something. Textile/fabric recycling doesn’t seem to have any presence around here. I have very worn t-shirts as well that would make good rags.
Good week to all!
Hello, everyone! Happy belated birthday, Brandy!
I found several good deals on marked down ground beef last week. All of it was still very fresh looking. My kids love hamburgers, so I was thrilled to be able to stock up. I also found reduced price chicken at Sam’s.
While in Aldi, I stumbled upon vegetable plants. I had planned to buy pepper plants elsewhere later on, but they had large bell pepper plants 3x the size of most other places for $3.25! I took the only 2 of those available. They had lots of tomato plants, but I didn’t need any.
While cleaning some things out of the garage, I found a large container of bubbles. My kids are beyond that stage, so I will find a way to incorporate them in cleaning.
I made what I call hybrid veggie burgers using ground chicken (food processor), spinach, onion, egg, and breadcrumbs. We really loved them. This week I plan to make a big batch of mixed bean, corn, and pepper burgers.
I’ve been picking lots of strawberries….thankful for that! My youngest enjoys making strawberry bread with me, and we have been enjoying that for breakfast.
Have a great week!
I bought six San Marzano tomato plants for $4 each last week and I transplanted them. They all look great so far. I grew SO MANY sweet potato slips and have transferred several to the garden. Not all have made it but I am learning and there are many more I could plant. I tried plants tiny potatoes from last year as seed potatoes. They are not great but a few came up. My husband had many come up so keeping them was worth it. (I do get frustrated with trying to cook with the itty bitty ones.) I have more volunteer potato plants than what I planted so that’s exciting. My onions are alive. I’m not much of a gardener but I’m learning.
My daughter has a big event coming up in June. We will have a little reception with finger food. I went to Aldi yesterday and bought many packages of salami and cheese. All will still be unexpired by then so I went ahead and bought them. I went to Trader Joe’s and bought butter. It’s a little pricier but still a good price. My Sam’s butter is weird. I think it has extra water in it. I also asked where the popcorn was because the section was so reduced that I could barely see it. Only a handful of bags were left. I took all but two hoping they restock for others. I splurged and bought dark chocolate bars. I ate about 1/6 or 1/8 of it. I will make it last. I made my son a half of chocolate scratch cake (most of the family is moved out) and then I dug around in the fridge and found leftover frosting from a German chocolate cake and glaze from donuts. I added the number 12 in chocolate chips. It wasn’t my prettiest cake ever but it was nice and we all thought it tasted good with a little TJ’s ice cream. It’s VERY pricey but the ingredients are good and the bigger vanilla is a better price. I would rather eat less of a quality item then more of the cruddy kind.
I had not been doing a good job of keeping my chest freezer inventory up to date and didn’t know for sure what was in there. My daughter and I unpacked everything, made a list, and repacked it more tidily (including using tote bags to separate categories). I then planned lots of meals from the freezer!
I sowed a lot of seeds in trays in the greenhouse and they germinated! I don’t know if it was warmer nighttime temperatures or keeping then safe from critters, but it’s a big relief.
My mother delivered a cardigan she had knitted for my daughter. She knits for all her grandchildren in rotation, and always uses superwash 100% wool so the cardigans last and are very warm.
Two of my children are going to a Scouting camp and needed their own water bottles. I bought 500ml ion8 ones, and there was an offer on so I bought one for a third child and then got a free one for me. I got these ones because they are supposed to last well and be easy to clean, so I hope they will be able to take them off to university! We borrowed a sleeping mat and sleeping bag, and are using rucksacks we already own.
It was my son’s birthday. We got him one present. We asked my parents to get him shirts and a massive stack of notebooks for writing stories. I am happy that he was so happy!
Happy 50th Birthday! I am glad you got to celebrate with a nice dinner!
One deal I found this week was on Gutermann Sew All thread. I found their 1096 yd Sew-All thread at Michaels on sale for $3.14/spool after a 30% discount. I got two whites and then a few other colors to stock up. Even though Michaels doesn’t usually apply coupons to fabric, they do apply them to sewing notions, including Gutermann thread, so it’s good to check their notions section out if you need something.
Happy 50th Birthday! You look wonderful and so does your beautiful garden. Your roses are so lovely. God bless you