Saturday, February 17, 2018

Frugal Activities for the week of February 12, 2018

This week I was able to work three days. Next week is Winter Break, so I have the first three days of the week free. 

We've had A LOT of rain here this week, which has made a mess of our driveway. I'm hoping for some sunshine next week to dry up all the mess.

With all the rain came the humidity, which made the temperature warm for this time of year. At school students asked me to turn on the air conditioner one day because it was really warm in their classroom.  

At home I opened the windows and turned the fan on to cool down the house, which helped.  We want to save money here and do not want to have to turn on the a/c in February. 

We've had homemade meals everyday this week. One night I made some brown rice, added some beans I cooked earlier in the week, and then added a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. 

Photo Credit
This was a idea I gleaned from Jeff Novick who is a registered dietician. It was delicious and low in sodium, plant based and cost under $3.00 to make. 

Friday evening we went to the thrift store and I picked up Dean Ornish's book, Eat More, Weigh Less for $1.00 to read the recipes and possibly add them to our plant based menus. 

I had plenty of time for reading this week (I had no students on one of the days I subbed) and managed to read two books for some free entertainment. 

My daughter needed three of her cloth pads repaired this week, so I brought out the sewing machine and quickly repaired those. Taking care of simple repairs will make the pads last longer. 

The wrestling team at the high school did so well this year that they went to the state championship in Nashville yesterday. We were able to watch the matches online at school. It was very exciting to watch. 

I did not spend any money for Valentine's Day as it was just a regular day here. 

What have you done to save money this week?

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~

10 comments:

  1. sounds like a lovely frugal week. We did nothing for V-Day either - just another day.
    AC - wow - that is early!!!!
    Have a great week off.

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    1. Thanks, Cheryl. I hope you have a great week too. :)

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  2. It's getting hot and humid here, so I use the fan sometimes. I agree, it's too early to use AC, it's still mid February. :)

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  3. I envy you the heat but not the humidity - it's still hovering around the freezing mark here although enough of the snow has melted that I didn't bother to put boots on when I went grocery shopping today. There is still snow on the ground but the roads and sidewalks are all cleared so it wasn't a problem.
    Being sick has meant it was a frugal week as there was no socializing - also saved on transit fares. Didn't have much of an appetite so only the minimum amount of grocery shopping was done. I will stop off at the No Frills supermarket after church tomorrow to pick up a few stockpile items as they have their $1 sale on this week so it is worthwhile making the effort.
    All meals have been eaten at home and I don't anticipate eating out at all before next Saturday so I'll stay within my allowance.

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    1. Sounds like you had a good frugal week, Margie. I'm sorry you were sick. Glad some of your snow has melted. I grew up near Chicago and know about getting on the snow gear. LOL

      I hope you have a good week and feel better.

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  4. We're keeping costs down by keeping food costs down -- but it involved spending some money upfront:

    $5.50 at the bakery outlet for a loaf of double-fiber bread, a bag of 12 hamburger rolls, a loaf of dark rye and a giant tub of pretzel rods (that last wasn't strictly necessary, but it was fun)

    A giant ham (forget the actual price) for 77 cents a pound -- it was the second ham we bought at that price. DF put it on the Weber because he prefers a smoky flavor, and then carved it up and froze it in packages. He left some out for sandwiches and to make a dish we call "ham and yam" (it's really something like Black Forest Sweet Potato Hash), which is cheap and quite tasty. Later this week he'll make split-pea soup with one of the two bones; the other one got frozen for a pot of pinto beans somewhere down the road.

    I put a bunch of potatoes in the slow cooker while he was roasting the ham, and when I came back from the library I made them into potato salad; I'd already boiled the eggs, which I found on sale for $1.50 a dozen (that sounds like a lot to you folks in the Lower 48, but it was such a good price locally that I bought three dozen).

    Now I'm sitting here enjoying the aroma of the dinner we'll have as soon as he gets back from an organ recital: It's a beef pot pie made with cut-up beef and beef gravy from the freezer, plus some diced potato and peas and carrots (all of which were bought on sale). I made the crust myself, as I prefer the from-scratch to the store-bought brand. It smells sooo good in here right now.

    Also turned some close-dated milk ($1.50 per gallon -- another screamin' deal by Alaska standards) into homemade yogurt, which is currently draining through a cloth-lined colander. It will become Greek yogurt, and all the whey will also go into the freezer (we use it for baking and cooking). I'll stir in some rhubarb and raspberry compote (both of which grew in our yard) and add some ground flaxseed (bought the whole flaxseed with Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks and whirled them in the blender).

    One non-food-related savings: I'm booking a trip to see my daughter in Phoenix, using a "buddy pass" from a friend who works for the airline. Last time I did this I got tickets for about $120 total. (Don't get me started on tickets to and from Alaska...!) Among the things I'm taking along: a T-shirt she wanted from a conference we both attended last year, some cat treats (the "Free Friday Download" from Kroger), two bags of Holiday Mint M&Ms (obtained for 75 percent off after Christmas), a $25 Smashburger gift card (a Christmas present) and a $25 Cracker Barrel card (which I got from cashing in more Swagbucks points).

    Gosh, we're cheap. And gosh, we're happy. :-)

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    Replies
    1. THat's great, Donna. I'm so glad you are all happy. SOunds like you had a good and frugal week. Can't beat that. :)

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  5. When we cleared 75 upstairs my daughter briefly turned on the a/c. It was nice to have the warmer days, but then we dropped back down to cold the next few days.

    I love rice and veggies! That looks so good!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Shara. The rice and veggies made enough for lunch the next day too. We did turn the ac on yesterday as it was way too hot in the house for any comfort. I am looking forward to it getting cooler again.

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