My Frugal Week
Welcome to Friday! We've had a good frugal week and it was great to be on spring break and get several things done around the house.
Added to our Frugal Pantry this week:
Last Friday my daughter stopped in at Kroger and bought four dozen eggs since they were on sale for 88¢.
She also stopped in at Ingle's to see if they had any meat markdowns. She hit the jackpot there.
She found Laura Lynn orange juice for 99¢. We bought six of those since they were such a good price.
She also found ground beef marked down. The prices were all different, but the most inexpensive one worked out to $1.81 per pound. We ended up with close to twenty pounds all tucked away in our freezer now.
On Saturday we stopped in at Earth Fair to pick up some honey since we were out. I pick up one quart of honey, organic lemons, Numi three root turmeric tea, Numi gunpowder green tea, and one lemon plum to try.
On Thursday we stopped in at Ingle's & Kroger and ended up with more meat for the freezer and a couple of pizzas, which were marked down .
We also picked up three loaves of bread for 38¢ each.
We also stopped in at Aldi to pick up five bags of the onions that are on sale this week for 99¢ per three pound bag.
Dinners This Week:
Saturday: Chicken & Dressing, Carrots,
Sunday: Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Biscuits
Monday: Cheesy Potatoes, Broccoli
Tuesday: Chicken Tenders, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli
Wednesday: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Peas
Thursday: Loose Meat Sandwiches, Salad
Friday:
Stayed Home/No Spend Days:
Monday & Wednesday - No Money Spent
What I Worked on This Week:
This cat cot sells for brand new on Amazon for $22.38, but we found one at a yard sale last summer and only paid $1.00 for it.
The cats have loved it and actually wore a hole in the middle of the mesh, so they stopped using it.
I wanted them to have one that is useful, but I didn't want to buy a new one since we only paid $1.00 for this one.
On Wednesday I had the time to patch the hole they had created. Using part of an old towel and some fishing line, I sewed a patch onto the cot from underneath. I sewed two different circles around the patch hoping it will last for a while.
I'm happy to report that the cot is now back in service with our cats.
Other things I've worked on this week include:
- Processing Inventory
- Cross Posting Inventory
- Laundry - Hung some up to dry on the free drying rack we picked up last summer.
Unexpected Expenses This Week:
On Saturday the tire pressure monitoring system on my car indicated that on of my tires needed additional air pressure. Since we live in a rural area, air compressors are few and far between here, and the one I did find was out of order.
Sunday morning I woke up early and went to Walmart's automotive center because they are the only automotive service open on Sunday here.
To make a long story short I ended up buying a new tire. Thankfully, even though I am between paychecks I just happened to have the money without dipping into my savings account.
Saved, Reused, & Repurposed:
I emptied the remains of two jars of cherry preserves, but washed and saved the jars to be used later.
Freebies This Week:
This week I received a free six month supply of medicine for my blood sugar. My doctor filled out the forms for me to receive it for free.
Although this freebie is now expired it was a very nice freebie. A regular size pouch of the Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice with garlic.
Other Frugal Activities:
We don't use baggies very often for our sandwiches, but use reusable containers instead when we need a lunch packed for outside the home. Same with our reusable water bottles.
Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~
I used some of our tax return to buy a new frontloading washer. I had one at our previous house, but had to leave it with the sale. The new house we bought only had an older top loader and I cringed about the water waste every time I did laundry (there are five of us). I'm loving the new machine. I don't have a clothes line, but I'm looking into a portable one. Its a central pole with four legs for support and then various arms that can hold up to 36 garments and even has clips for socks, etc. They have pretty good reviews on Amazon, as long as you make sure to get the one with four legs, and not three. The three legged falls over. Good prices on the meat!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Nichole. I'm glad you were able to get a new front loading washer with your tax return. I love that they use less water. My dad replaced our old style commode, which used 5 gallons per flush, with a newer one that only uses 1 gallon per flush. We like being green where we can and saving water and our planet in the process. I hope you get the portable clothes line, it will save you so much money verses using your dryer.
DeleteI'm not exactly sure about our current toilets usage, but I normally fill a 32 oz Gatorade bottle, or similar, with water and set it in the tank. This decreases water usage.
DeleteThat is a great way to save on the water usage.
DeleteYou are lucky to just be able to replace one tire, we always have to replace all 4 due to the make of our car. Dang!
ReplyDeleteOh, that would be awful, Kim. My tires are only a couple of years old, so I was feeling down that I had to replace one. The auto mechanic suggested my car was out of alignment, but I had that done when I got the tires. Still, I need to check into it again.
DeleteSo nice to see you back on here and so glad you are feeling better. :) You got some really good deals. I stopped at Kroger today and got the Friday deals. If you download the coupons you could get Townhouse crackers for .99 cents. I got 4 boxes as my family loves them. I stopped at Publix and got the Luzianne Tea bags for BOGO. Only tea we drink :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Sarah. You did good with the crackers and Luzianne tea. We like both of those too. One time I wrote to Luzianne and told them how much we liked their tea and they sent me a coupon for a free bo. It was so neat!
DeleteThat's awesome and really nice of them too. Maybe I should try that ;) Hope you are having a great weekend!
DeleteThank you, Sarah. I hope you are too. :)
DeleteIt sounds like your spring break was very productive, Belinda. Good for you for repairing the cat's cot.
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear about the unexpected tire expense. Sometimes on cold mornings my car's tire pressure light comes on and I go to the service station and they check and fill it up for free. This is the station I normally use every 6 months, so I'm not sure they will do it for free if I'm not a regular customer.
Have a great weekend. :)
My daughter's tire pressure will do that if there is a change in temperature like that. Her uncle always helps her out with that. He is so good to her. I'm thinking of getting a air compressor specifically for this as they sell on Amazon for around $30. I'm going to ask her uncle though and see what he thinks. THank you, Nil.
DeleteWe have an air compressor, it sure comes in handy! I think it was around $30 on Amazon also.
DeleteThat's what I'm thinking would be best for us to do. Thanks, Nichole. :)
DeleteGreat buys, especially on the beef!
ReplyDeleteI would like to line dry, but we have a neighborhood covenant against clotheslines. I do have a drying rack and I set it out sometimes, but not this time of year. Everything would be yellow from the pollen if I did.
Oh my gosh, yes Anne, we would have pollen on our clothes too right now. I used my rack indoors. It's too bad your neighborhood has the clothesline rule, so many of them do these days.
DeleteReading comments I saw that your looking for an air compressor. Do you have a Harbor Freight. You can get one there and use a 20% coupon. My DH has a professional one that cost loads of money but has saved a ton of money over the years. Probably paid for itself 10 times over. An economical one would be a really frugal purchase for you.
ReplyDeleteWe have refurb tires places in our area. We can get tires for $25. I don't know if you have those in your area. I hate thinking you had to pay WalMart their exorbitant tire prices.
Great deals on the meat! Bailey is a super shopper.
That is a great idea, Safyne. I will look at Harbor Freight and use the coupon. THanks! I had to pay about $105 for the tire, no tire refurbers here that I know of, but what a great price in your area. THankyou, Bailey is such a big help to me.
DeleteWe are buying a new vehicle tire, too ... very soon. This week?
ReplyDeleteYou and Bailey found good deals. The cat cot mending was a honey of an idea.
Any medication cost decrease helps. Glad you got help. My diabetic medication cost decreased about 70% this year, thanks to government's lowering diabetic cost. Using insulin, the lower cost is substantial for me. I am diabetic because I have taken Prednisone for 22 years.
Sam's credit card now offers 5% off at gas stations.
Have yourself a GREAT week.
Thank you, Anna. Congrats to you on saving 70% on meds this year. That's great. I'm sorry you have to buy a new tire soon too. Next on my list of car to do list is having the brakes checked, and a front end alignment all in that order. That's a good savings on the Sam's Club gas. Every little bit helps. I hope you have a great week too.
DeleteSounds like a great frugal week to me -- even with having to purchase a tire. I always remind myself to be grateful for small car maintenances -- it helps when I think of what some people pay for car payments...my mind is blown at the cost LOL
ReplyDeleteThat is a great point of view, Shara. You're so right, things could be much different. I'm so glad I had the money without dipping into savings.
DeleteYour daughter is such a great deal shopper, Belinda . That must please you :)
ReplyDeleteKudos to you on your resourceful fix on the cat trampoline thingy - I'm glad they are back to enjoying it.
I'm happy that you were able to handle the new tire without needing to withdraw from your savings. It's so nice when that happens. Like a little reward for being careful with your money.
Debra
Thank you, Debra. Yes, my daughter makes me very happy that she is careful with money. I know that she is a blessing to me. I hope you are doing well and have a good weekend.
ReplyDeleteYou got great sales this week. OJ for 99¢is unheard of by me. Great find on all the meat and pizza. Have a great week off.
ReplyDeleteThank you! Yea, the orange juice was a great price on markdown, it's usually not that cheap here either.
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