Frugal Friday
We made it to Friday!
I was able to work all five days of school this week for which I'm grateful.
Before we headed home from school for the weekend, we stopped at IGA to run in and get one of their sale items. They had eggs on sale for 99¢. There was a limit of four, so I bought four cartons. What a great price. :)
I also stopped and filled up my car with gas and paid $1.53 a gallon. I am enjoying the lower gas prices, but have to wonder what is going to happen down the line due to the lower price.
I read the other day that many of the oil companies in the US are filing bankruptcy because they cannot make a profit if oil falls below $60 a barrel and it is at $28 right now.
We came home and I scrounged around in the kitchen and pantry to come up with something for dinner.
We had some Old ElPaso kits with tortilla boats that we bought some time ago very inexpensively using a sale and a coupon.
So, I made some Mexican rice in the rice cooker and then heated up some chili beans. I then cut up and put out some taco toppings I had such as tomatoes, black olives, sour cream, cheese, and avocado.
I layered the bowls with rice, cheese, beans, and then whatever toppings that person wanted and served these with a side of corn. They were a big hit with my family.
I just improvised and made these with items we had on hand. The kit still has hard shell tacos, sauce, and taco seasoning in there that I will need to use up at a later time.
After dinner I washed up the dinner dishes and also washed out my lunch bowls and baggies that we used today. They are drying on some chop sticks right now.
I buy the freezer bags when I buy storage bags as they are heavy duty compared to regular sandwich bags or even regular quart size.
I did some calculating the other day and these bags cost me 6¢ each, so by washing them out I am saving almost 25¢ a day (2 in each lunch box). At the end of the month that is almost $5.00 I've saved, which adds up to a savings of $50 at the end of the school year.
I've also been wanting to mention these peanut butter jars I've been saving. I bought all of these on a very good sale using coupons. They are the 15 ounce size, but the jars are so great that I've been using them in my lunch box. I packed cucumbers and my homemade ranch dressing in one the other day for lunch. They are the perfect size for a lunch box and also very sturdy.
How was your week?
Belinda
~ Living within my means in Southern Tennessee ~
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Hi Belinda,
ReplyDeleteI am glad you got to work all 5 days this week.:)Good job on saving money on packing lunches and reusing supplies. We also use
jars for storing and transporting food. I like to use glass jars for food that I am going to pop in the microwave with a plastic lid from peanut butter jars or mayo jars. I love the small Jars with the red lids. They look so festive and are a great size for sides. They would be great for a Valentines treat.
Patti
Thank you, Patti. :) I love reusing jars for food storage. I save most all of the jars that come through here. I even use them to take off yucky things in the garbage, like the fats that come off any taco meat I've drained. Since I carry the garbage off in my car, it helps to keep things tidier and neat. And I love the fact that the peanut butter and mayo lids fit on regular canning jars. Such a great thing. :)
DeleteSomehow I think the oil companies are fear mongering. They need to be more efficient and deal with lower oil prices. They gladly robbed us all when oil was $150 a barrel. Hard to feel bad for them.
ReplyDeleteMy Mom says the same thing, Theresa. I agree it is hard to feel bad for them. Probably some CEO isn't going to be getting such a huge bonus this times around and I don't feel sorry for them at all. I just worry that somewhere down the line we are going to end up paying for this somehow and I hope I am wrong.
DeleteI love the chopstick idea to let the bags dry! I have been putting them over my kitchen decor and they look really bizarre that way. I have a little red Dala horse from Sweden, a yellow India Elephant my daughter made in art class out of clay and a little red wooden cat that is painted in similar colors and designs as the elephant and horse. The cat serves as a ring holder for when I do dishes. They line up by my sink and add a pop of color. Anyway....sandwich bags hanging from the horse's head, elephant's trunk and cat's tail just are not working for me, ha ha. Chopsticks I can do! I have a ton of those suckers.....:)
ReplyDeleteThe Dala horse, India elephant, and little red cat sound so cute. :)
DeleteWe have plenty of chopsticks here too. My daughter loves to eat with them. I would much rather use a fork. lol
Your Mexiacn inspired dinner looks great! I also try to reuse items as much as I can before tossing. I currently have a smaller, glass jar that I am using to tote fruit in my lunch to work
ReplyDeleteThank you, Carol. Excellent use of the glass jar to tote back and forth to work and it saves us money in the process. :)
DeleteSaving your money and doing it well.
ReplyDeleteLast year, Putin announced that if a barrel of oil went below $70, their economy could not handle it. What does this mean for the rest of us? Filled up today @ $1.25 per gallon with store reward points.
Wow, that is a great price to fill up on! yes, what does that mean for the rest of us. The housing crash in 2008 had far, far reaching consequences. Things I wouldn't of imagined, so this makes me wonder. :(
DeleteI let out an "ugh" at the thought of that box of snack bars thrown out! so many kids could have taken one for a snack, bring a couple home....
ReplyDeleteExactly, meme. Hurts my heart to think about it. :(
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