Thursday, July 13, 2017

Second Frugal Week of July 2017


Last week we found a full length mirror at a yard sale for $1.00. It had been on our wish list for some time, but I hardly ever see full length mirrors for sale at yard sales. The one we've been looking at @ Lowe's is $14.98, so we saved $13.98 on the mirror. 

We went to Jo-Ann's Fabrics over the weekend. The reason I went was to get a cleaning brush for my sewing machine and sewing machine oil. Mine did not come with these since I bought it at a yard sale and I've used mine a lot since I bought it, so it was time for a good cleaning and oiling. 

I had sticker shock while I was in Jo-Ann's. We used a 40% off coupon, but even with that the prices were very high, even double in some cases when compared to other stores. This makes me happy for my frugal ways as I find other sources for fabric that don't cost me as much as stores like this. 


I made one more cloth pad for my daughter this week. This fabric came from one of the scrub shirts we bought at a yard sale last weekend. 

I figured the cost of ordering 30 cloth pads from Etsy, and the total cost would have been $610.50. I did not pay anywhere near that amount for the materials I bought. 

I used good quality fabric obtained second hand and bought PUL and Zorb to make these pads, which ended up costing less than $3.00 each to make, which saved me over $500. And now that my daughter has a sufficient supply we are saving money on electricity via less laundry as well. 

On Tuesday we went to McKay's Used Books and traded books and games again. We received right at $50 in trade credit and picked up several new to us books & movies in return. One of the movies I picked up was Simon Birch, which I had seen years ago, but enjoyed watching again this week. 

We also went to the Samaritan Center on Tuesday. I picked up a couple of fabric bundles inexpensively (88¢ and $1.36) and also some pretty cloth napkins for 25¢ each.

We went to the Mennonite Farmer's Market on Tuesday. We picked up tomatoes, red onions, lettuce, red cabbage, cantaloupes, and potatoes. For dinner that night we had soup beans, cabbage, and tomatoes & onions. Delicious!



I'm not sure if you can see that, but I ordered Redbook, Woman's Day, and Woman's Health magazines for free from Verizon Rewards this week. I also ordered Rachael Ray's magazine free from Recycle Bank this week. 

On Wednesday I drove Mom to a doctor's appointment. We stopped at the Peach orchard and bought peaches. These are so delicious that the juice will run down your arm when you eat them.  :)

I sold an item on Ebay this week that netted me $36.55 after all Ebay and Paypal fees. 

What frugal things have you been up to this week?

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~

15 comments:

  1. I wish we had another fabric store other than Jo-Ann's but that's our only option around here. I went into mourning when Walmarts here stopped carrying fabric. 8-(

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  2. I love it when I can fulfill a want (the mirror in your case) that has been lingering on the list for sometime, by using one of my frugal tricks. Waiting until you got one second hand saved a nice chunk of $. WTG.

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    1. Thank you, Carol. I was tickled about the mirror.

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  3. I love the mirror. Great find. All your frugal things you did this week I love. Don't you love that thrill when you find your Wish List item at the store?

    I don't know if this would help you any but I get a lot of my art supplies off of Ebay. It is the China sellers so you have to wait a bit longer but I save a lot of money. For example I needed new seam rippers. I bought one at WalMart for around $2.00. I go to Ebay and find the same exact seam ripper 5/77cents.

    I hardly shop at the big box craft stores any more. They are so overpriced and I am finding better deals online. I am redoing my art studio right now. There is an endeavor, lol. I noticed all of my favorite items have come from Ebay, Thrifting & Dollar Tree. I am glad that when I started crafting I was able to use those great craft coupons for my tools. I have high quality tools that help me save a lot of money.To be fair too I love my cheap tools. If you saw my room ratio to cheap tools vs expensive the cheap tools are the winner. I was cutting shanks off of buttons tonight with my Dollar Tree wire cutters. :) I am turning my buttons into embellishments for my journals and planners.

    Frugal week- DH & I signed up for Netflix. Cancelled Amazon Prime on Prime day, lol. I thought that was so funny. I didn't mean for it to work out like that but it did. DH & I found out Amazon is quite the racket, least for us. We need a decent streaming service. I am envious you get to trade so well, that would probably be my streaming service but trading in my area has gone to the wayside sadly. I use to be big into trading things.

    Stayed at home this week. I have a big sinus infection. DH took me out for Orange Julius. I would make it at home but I also have a sinus migraine. Crushing ice cube sounds would have made me cry, literally. Two Orange Julius cost us $8!!!!! Mouth dropped open over that. Least it did make me feel a bit better.

    I put a clean copy of Window's Creator's Edition on my computer. ISO was free from Microsoft and licensing is on my motherboard. This will keep my computer healthy and happy for a long time. DH & I do sell our computers when we upgrade after a few years. We always sell at profit. I never spend more than $50 on a computer and our computers are high end.

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    1. I have ordered a couple of things from the China sellers on Ebay and did have to wait a long time, but that is a really good suggestion about how to get things cheaper. They have a SHabby Chic quilt that I have been looking at that is so much cheaper than any other seller. I amy have to bight the bullet and get it! LOL

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    2. I'm sorry you're sick and hope you are feeling better soon. The orange Julius sounds great and refreshing. Those are so good. :)

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  4. Frugal week stuff:

    DF made barbecue sauce with catsup and a bunch of other odds and ends. It's for the pork roast he bought for 99 cents a pound, which will become pulled pork sandwiches once it's finished its stint in the slow cooker.

    He also bought ground turkey at three pounds for $5 (as good as it gets up here) and ground beef for $2.77 a pound (ditto). Then he mixed the two together and froze them in patties. Tomorrow he'll go to the bakery outlet and buy rolls for the pulled pork and burgers -- some for now, some for the freezer -- and some sandwich bread. The price should be $1 to $1.50 for multigrain products.

    I redeemed two "Free Friday Download" offers at Fred Meyer (a Kroger store). One was a bottle of barbecue sauce, which we apparently don't need right away...! The other is something called "Overnight Oats," which will go to the food bank.

    I tossed some year-old Mott's 100% Apple Juice freezer pops into my next batch of rhubarb compote (for my homemade yogurt). The rhubarb was a gift from a friend.

    I dehydrated some Asian greens that have gone mad with joy in the sun. We don't know what either variety actually is; they're volunteers from a seed packet we got a few years ago. But they're good in salads and, once they're dried, in soups and stews.

    Now I'm going to go help my niece scavenge strawberry plants from the guy next door. He offered them to us but we haven't built our third bed yet. No matter: The plants we already have are so lively they're runner-ing all over. When the bed is ready, we'll fill it with volunteers.

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    1. Sounds like a good and frugal week, Donna. Way to go. :)

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  5. Love, love reading these summer adventures of yours and I assume Bailey is your helper most of the time.

    Only wish we had decent thrift stores around here. Most are so filthy you don't even want to go into them.

    Dd and I were out and about yesterday and my "big" excitement was stopping in Aldi's. Not saying I bought too much. But I like the Fit and Active snacks. I had also bought a coleslaw dressing in there awhile back and we loved it and could never find it again. I found one this time so we will try it. I also bought (of all things, a body pillow) for $10. I love having it on my side of the bed if my back starts bothering me after a busy day and the cat also likes to sleep on top of pillows. Dd bought a body pillow and a fan, also some food.

    Have a good day Belinda and I love forward to your next installment!!

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    1. Oh yes, Bailey is my helper most of the time. I love our adventures together. SOunds like you and your daughter had a nice trip to Aldi I love going in there as there is always something to look at and enjoy.

      I hope you have a great day too, Mary Lou. :)

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  6. Great finds!

    I always find, even with coupons for fabric and things, that it is now harder to sew for less than you can buy ready made. Sadly....sigh.

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    1. That is sadly true, Busy Bee. Especially with the pries at some yard sales where you can find name brand things for pennies on the dollar. Of course it does help for those who are trying to be frugal. :)

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  7. Envying you your farmers market. The ones here in Anchorage have prices you could not believe. (Think: $10 a pound for tomatoes.)

    But our greenhouse and garden are getting close to blessing us with lots of goodies. We've already eaten several kinds of lettuce and those Asian greens, plucked a few sugar snap peas off the vine and picked our first couple of strawberries. The raspberries are waiting in the wings, too.

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    1. Sad to read about your prices at the farmer's market there, Donna. But how great that you are beginning to enjoy the fruits of your own labor with your greenhouse and garden. I would love to see some photos of it someday. :)

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