My brother sent us a beautiful sympathy bouquet that also included a vase that I love.
We were given some sliced watermelon and 2 loaves of bread.
My mom gave me a pot of white spider mums. I am going to plant it in the front garden.
We returned the extra dirt that I purchased for the garden for a refund.
I returned the plants that died to the nursery (via their store policy to replace plants that die within one year) and was given store credit for them.
I used a $20 off coupon at the nursery to purchase more plants for the garden (I also used my credit for some of that as well).
I used a $10 off coupon for Lowe’s that came in the mail to purchase the urn that I wanted for the focal point in the front yard. It wasn’t the color that I wanted, so I used paint that I had purchased to repaint our bench to paint the urn. There is still plenty of paint left to paint the bench.
I went to a social and at the end of the night, I was invited to take home some of the leftovers, including a whole watermelon! I also was given some lettuce to take home. Mine bolted two months ago with the heat; this was from a woman who is growing it here in her greenhouse, which they are keeping cool and humid with a swamp cooler and a fan. (Their entire house is off grid, running on solar and three windmills. I never thought of having a greenhouse to keep a garden cooler, which is fascinating.)
I gave the elastic cords from the hang tags of my new Meyer lemon trees to my girls to make bead bracelets. They were just the right length.
I watched one show for free on Hulu.
I gave the baby a bath in the kitchen sink instead of in my bathtub. It used a lot less water. I am going to bathe her there from now on, until she is too big.
I continued to catch water in the shower while waiting for it to warm.
We picked tomatoes and apples from the garden, and a handful of strawberries. I also cut basil from the garden, and I picked our first Armenian cucumber (this year) from the garden. I made a cucumber tomato salad one day.
I picked apricots from a friend’s garden again.
I picked Green gage plums from our garden.
I finally went shopping for some food last week; I spent $6.10 and I bought 20 pounds of food: 10 pounds of carrots and 10 pounds of potatoes.
I mended a dress.
What did you do to save money last week?
had the most fantastic weekend. It was Brightlingsea’s open garden weekend. This where people open their gardens which are only accessable by a programme which covers both days. This raises money for the local hospice. So for £4.50 you can have the most amazing experience. Very ordinary houses open up behind to the most beautiful tranquil oasis of lovilness you have ever seen. Everything from very formal to wild flower meadows and all ports in between. The weather was not kind but us B’seaites are a stalwart bunch, zipped up donned wellys and umbrellas on took to the tour in style. Lots of the gardens also sell refreshments as even more fund raisers and everybody wanted to chat and they SMILED. The local handicraft group put on a display in the town hall and the lady custodians were giggling about how every year as a challenge each member is given two less than appealing fabrics to make something out of. One lady had stripped the fabric back to its original threads and then made them into lace. Words fail me at the delicacy and perfection she achieved. The group that organise the weekend also serve ploughmans lunches and drinks in the church hall. Monies raised also go to the hospice. I shared a table with a very elderly couple who having enjoyed lunch and a glass of red wine were planning their route round working out what would be accessible on the electric invalid buggies. Not only did I get to see beautiful gardens but was also invited in for a cuppa and view of one persons art work. This was beyond words, he has been exhibited at the Royal Academy and his wife does wonderful work for the vulnerable in the community. In another garden I was then invited in to view the house. It is one I have always wondered about as it is a very unusual design. Upside down with bedrooms down and sitting area up. When you get up stairs you find out why. The most stunning views over B’sea creek looking out to see. OK it was the most frugal weekend but the £9.50 I spent on the programme and lunch made a donation to the most wonderful cause. Naturally I spent the rest of the week by being my usual frugal self. Sorry Brandy I never thought to mention saving water from the shower for bathing the baby in the sink or saving water from the shower run off. Just a normal part of life for me and mine. There is a wonderful photo of my brother being bathed in his grandmothers sink some 50years ago.Anona
I cooked all meals at home. We did eat out on Sunday with a coupon (only spent $15.00 and we had leftovers to bring home)I did several returns of small items that we had bought at the home store and turns out we did not need them. In the past hubby would just put them in his tool box. Now I did the returns and it helped with the next items we needed to buy anyway. I sold more items on craigslist and I have items on ebay as well and they are selling. I used a lot of coupons at the grocery last week. Highlights Free ice cream. 90 cents for toothbrushes, laundry soap 3 jugs full and two dozen eggs. I went shopping again today and got four bags full for $5.05. So I was happy with that. We had soup for a few meals and a few large salads as well. This week I will restock the freezer using money from my sales at the big box store They have several meats on special. I gifted my daughter a pair of sandals I was given a year ago and they were still new (I never wore them they were too big for my feet. Her birthday is this month so I gave these to her as part of her gift.I am repurposing a number of items in our home to give them new life and set up our new home with less cost involved. It is so expensive to move! I am grouping errands together. To the lady with the teens and the social life. When mine were young I set them a budget for the summer each week they got $25.00 and that was it. They could use it all in one day or make it last all week. I did not buy the friends snacks out of our grocery budget the budget I gave the kids was for everything. My oldest got very inventive she had manicure , pedicure days at home with popcorn and bring your own cokes with her girl friends. My son had sundae socials where he bought a gallon of ice cream and his friends brought all the toppings and then they would watch a movie at home. At the end of most weeks they would have money leftover to roll into the next week. So even at high ends the social dates can continue. My daughter had friends over to swim they brought drinks and she would make tea sandwiches of PBandJ and serve with pretzels and homemade popsicles. They can get creative if they have to. When the weekend rolled around they would often got to the movies and that does eat up some of the cash. They worked in soup kitchens, on a political campaign and donated time at the library and on our youth corp. All free besides the food that they needed away from home.
This week I made my second bulk purchase. I bought 25lbs of pinto beans on sale for $0.99/lb plus I got a 10% off because last week I didn’t get a discount when I purchased 25lbs of lentils. Sprouts gives 10% discount if you purchase over 25lbs of bulk items. We went camping this past weekend and I made all of the meals from scratch. We brought nuts and fruit to snack on. I made oatmeal for breakfast. We drank water the entire weekend. The kids had fun in the river. I did splurged on 2 bars of dark chocolate but we ended up using only 1/2 of one. I baked bread 4 times last week. I am considering buying whole wheat flour in bulk but I need to try the one we get at Sprouts. It’s sold in bulk so I don’t know the brand. A few years ago I bought a 25lb bag at Costco and we could tell the quality and flavor was not the same as King Arthur. We like Bob Red Mill but our grocery store only carries 1 lb and 5 lb bags. I found some great deals at an ethnic supermarket in my area. Lettuce $0.79, 4 avocados for $0.99, 6 bunches of green onions for $0.99, 5 cor for $0.99, and 3 cucumbers for $0.99 We are eating lots of salads these days. we had a couple of playdates at the beach and park. We brought our own lunches and the kids got to play. we only spent money for gas but catching up with friends was just what I needed.
Brandy, when my babies got too big for baths in the kitchen sink, then I would use a standard flat bottom baby bathtub sitting IN our big tub. Even the toddlers loved it and thought it was so fun! You can’t lie them down to rinse their hair, but I would just give them a washcloth to cover their eyes and pour a few big cupfulls of water over their head to rinse out shampoo. Just a thought! love from Susan in Canada
Thank you Melinda, I planted strawberries for the first time this year so I am not expecting much but will put grounds there too. I forgot to say that I also found eggs for 95 cents a dozen! I was super excited as eggs are not cheap anymore. I bought 4 dozen 🙂
Welcome to you too, Staci Too! Sounds like your hubby is on board for frugality! I started accepting offerings when something I declined was dumped in the garbage…oh the pain I felt for the wasted food. Since then it has been a joy to save the goodies from such an ending.
on eof my favorite jobs was bartending at the community centre where people catered their own events…at the end of a wedding or party at 3am, NO one wants the extra trays full of cheese and crackers..or the carrots and celery…the bar was closed, so I stayed and helped out to clean, i’d come home with tons of food….decorations and even once 4 goldfish in a nice bowl (centerpiece) … those were great perks
For the freshest whole wheat flour, you can buy wheat in bulk and grind it yourself: http://theprudenthomemaker.com/index.php/pantry/bulk-foods-and-grains
How beautiful that sounds, Anona!
I have a very large bathtub and so it takes more water because it is so wide.
I had a lot of frugal accomplishments! I went to the thrift store and was able to purchase a huge box of patterns and only had to pay $1.00 for over 100 patterns! I also let the kids catch butterflies and fireflies for free entertainment!
Thank you dear ladies very much!I have to check the links, I’m sure they’re so informative. Our budget is tight but the space is even more limited. We have to figure it out some how 🙂 Showering in the evening makes perfect sense! We need to learn to watch our water usage – untill now we have had our own well and no electric bill, more like a very reasonable monthly fee only, so we are facing new challenges in several fronts :-)Thank you and have a blessed week you all!
Thanks for sharing the site for the burger bun recipe. I made these to day and they were amazing!!
what a fantastic find on the patterns!
Sometimes frugality can be a conflict of the best kind. This week my local markets had the following specials.Pinto beans 2lb/.99 in bulk, chicken quarters .49lb, apricots .99lb, ground beef .99lb. Amazing prices, but I only bought the apricots!I had the money but not the space. Freezer is full, Thank you, God!I have 25lbs of pinto beans but I NEEDED apricots for my jam and syrup. I made 12- 1/2pints of jam, 2 clafoutis and 1 crisp with the apricots.Harvested parsley, chives, lettuce, zucchini and POTATOES! My first try at Yukon Golds and they are great.We ate from the freezer and pantry.Tomorrow my son and I are going to play Bingo at the local Indian Casino, for FREE. For my birthday I can play both sessions and get a free order of nachos and a large soda, and since it’s Thurs. those under 55 play for free. We get a fun, free way to celebrate and MAY win some money! Win or not, it will be fun to relax. Since my company gives you your birthday as a holiday I’ll get paid for the day off too!! Win, win, win?I picked up some grounds from Starbucks and am drying them.LOVE seeing all our new friends on this blog. It is truly the most user friendly blog and website I’ve seen. Easy to read, follow and find things.Thanks, Brandy, for thinking this through as well as you have your gardens.Have a Blessed week all.
Bob! & Andrea, You should probably be aware that there is a great deal of variation in care seat “aging”. Car seats in cars that are parked in garages, out of the sunlight do not deteriorate as fast as those that are always out in the sun. If the car seat looks “faded”, then I would go with the expiration date, since those are based on cars not garaged.
Heather, Welcome to our “fence”, neighbor! Sounds like you are doing what we all do, the best we can. With big kids it is a little tougher but they can be a wonderful source of help. Ask for suggestions and listen to what they say. They may surprise you.Hang in there.
This wk was filled with family as we celebrated my daughters HS graduation. We were blessed to have my parents, both my sisters and their 5 children come from VA to CT. Not many frugal victories but here goes:-I found a gift for my niece for her bday. Reg: $100 down to $35. A cinderella vanity which is perfect becuz she loves Disney princesses. -I was able to get gas for 1.59/gal becuz of my gas pts. -I got hamburger & hot dog buns for 2/$1 at our local grocery store,-My daughters friend was moving so we accepted 2 onions, tide washing machine cleaner and trash bags. -My dad bought us a wonderful seafood dinner to celebrate my daughters grad which incl lobster, shrimp, scallops and salmon. All my daughters favorite! Not frugal but a very nice treat. -As my house could not fit everyone, my parents and one sister stayed at a hotel …the hotel offered a quick breakfast bag of bottled water, small yoplait yogurt and wrapped muffin. So i now have approx 20 of each since they came to my house every morning! -washed my baggies even tho my family thot it was “wierd” but i dont care. -was able to gift my family w deoderants, razors, bodywash and shaving cream fro my stockpile without it affecting our needs. Brandy… I pray u and family finds comfort in knowing ur MIL is in heaven and memories of her will keep her close thru the yrs.
The freshest and best Whole What flour I can find is at Trader Joe’s. It is so fresh it tastes sweet!
Our youngest daughter used to work in the clubhouse in a gated community where millionaires have summer homes in our SC mountains. She came home with the most amazing leftovers from events. It was not unusual to get up on Sunday morning to a fridge full of steaks and seafood just waiting to be reheated. The desserts that come home were absolutely delicious. Oh how I miss those days! Often the centerpieces were left and were going to be thrown out and she brought some of those home too.
Thanks for the welcome, Linda! I will ask for their suggestions. After all, if they want to enjoy vacation in August and go to college… 😉
Oh these ideas are great! Funny, i was beginning to think of giving them a set weekly amount for the weeks we are home this summer. It would include everything they would want to do, just like you suggest (movies, food, comic book store, slurpees, whatever, but when it’s gone, it’s gone). I may just have to implement that. Your kids were quite creative. I’ll have to make some of these suggestions to them. Thanks!!
I think about this quite often, and you’ve prompted me to ask what others think. for those who are lactose intolerant does the making yogurt process use all the lactose in milk, can they therefore eat diary yogurt? I think I read this somewhere many many years agojenny in wales
that’s exactly what I do with my 2 yr old
Yes, it is a great way for them to learn how to budget mine are in their early 30’s now and even in hard times they have learned to be creative to make ends meat and they did not ever go through the 20’s , and 30’s with hands held out to Mom and Dad they learned that after 18 it was only gifts for birthdays and christmas and they realize they are gifts. (if we can afford they get more if it is a tight year they might get homemade items)