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Friday, May 15, 2020

Frugal Friday ~ May 15, 2020

Hello to all my readers! Friday used to be my favorite day of the week, but nowadays it seems like every other day. 

We did not shop for or have a pick up order for groceries this week. We have food here, which we've been cooking for meals, so no need to shop.

I've been getting creative with meals and yesterday made a Mexican inspired dish using chicken, Mexican Rice, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chili beans, and corn. I lined my casserole pan with tortillas and then served this with mixed vegetables on the side. Everyone enjoyed it, which made me happy. 

We did pick up a prescription at Publix this week, but we paid for the order online and used the drive thru, so minimal contact there and the cashier did not have to touch my debit card. 

My daughter bought dinner for us on my birthday last Saturday. We chose a locally owned Italian restaurant. We had it delivered via a delivery service, so no contact there either. 

The local community college is offering several online courses for free. I've decided to take one of the classes to teach myself about WordPress. 

I made my first sale in my Etsy shop this week. I was very excited and wanted to say thank you to Jill, who is a blog reader. :) 

The Green Book
Image Credit
We watched The Green Book for family movie night this week. Set in 1962, the film is inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South by African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard.

Gas prices remain at $1.29 per gallon here, although I've not bought any gas since last month since we are not going very many places.

Not shopping for supplies or going anywhere certainly saves us money. How have you been doing in the saving money department?

Belinda
~ Living within our Means ~
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28 comments:

  1. I do go to the grocery store and sometimes Lowe's. But, we still spend little. Gas is cheaper, so there is that. However, I have not seen it lower than $1.39.

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    1. We saw a photo of it for 99¢ per gallon somewhere here in TN, but we didn't see that price here.$1.29 is the lowest we've seen here.

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  2. I know what you mean about the days seeming the same. I've been trying to have a real weekend and start at 4:00 Fridays. Now, I might get pulled into something, but at least I know that should be extra.

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    1. Definitely, Sam. I hope you have a great weekend.

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  3. Your Mexican themed meal sounds yummy. Mex if by far my favorite.
    The days do all kind of blend together. I can tell days by when the neighbors car is gone - he only works certain days!

    How neat on the free classes - I wish they were doing that at our local college. That would be fun and interesting.
    Yep, these times are definitely saving me money as well. Haven't used a quarter tank of gas in over 2 months!
    Have a good weekend.

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    1. Than you, Cheryl. I hope you have a good weekend too.

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  4. I am so happy you are doing well and Happy Birthday to you my friend!

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  5. We are hanging in there here in PA. Chomping at the bit to travel to VA to see relatives but still on lockdown per the Governor's orders.

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    1. Glad to hear you are hanging in there, Sluggy.

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  6. Just ran the numbers and we have averaged $150/ month the last two months for the two of us! I was very pleased. Than heaven for a stockpile.

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    1. That is terrific! Yes, thank heaven for our stockpiles.

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  7. Congratulations on your first Etsy sale, Belinda!

    I don't even know gas prices in this area now. :) The last time I filled up the tank was before my spring break.
    Staying home surely saves money. :)

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    1. Thank you, Nil. Staying home definitely saves us money.

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  8. I did not know that you could pay for a prescription online then pick it up through the drive through. I love that. I'll see if our pharmacy does this.


    Mexican rice sounds so good! Something different than the usual.
    Have a great week!

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    1. It's terrific, Vickie. I don't think they did this before the pandemic, but are trying to be as contactless as possible. I hope your pharmacy does that too.

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  9. My DH had to fill up our truck the other day and two gas cans for our lawnmower. It was thirty gallons of gas for $20!

    Our city is opening again with very strict rules. I am so happy for the strict rules. I am still only acting like it's Stay At Home but I am essential shopping. I shop at small stores, have a handwashing/sanitizing station in my truck and wearing a mask.

    My library reopened again with very strict rules. It is normalcy.

    I have bought dinners out to help support our community.

    DH & I have been spending money. Because he is an essential worker we want to support essential workers and businesses. We want to help businesses that are not essential be able to generate income. Since we have an income this is one of our ways we are helping during Covid.

    We have been taking advantage of some of the great deals and have found items on our Wish List for amazing prices.

    I did buy hamburger the other day for $7lb. I am ok with that. This is one of the reasons why I am frugal for when these hard times hit that I am in a position to buy hamburger at $7lb to help the processing plants, stores, farmers, etc...

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    1. Wow, 30 gallons of gas for $20 is terrific! We are still staying home here too just like we were before things started to open back up. I'm pleased to hear that you are supporting essential workers and businesses. I think that's great, it is what we did with our Italian local eatery order. I think that is an important goal as well. We still have not been able to get hamburger, but I suspect it is because we are unwilling to go inside the store. But I'm OK with that. :)

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  10. We try to wrap up work early on Friday (which works well, as I'm done with my APAC & EMEA colleagues by then) & sit on the patio with a glass of wine. It's lovely, when the weather cooperates.

    Good work on your first Etsy sale! I cleaned the garage & found a skateboard/scooter convertible kit, dusted it off a bit, listed it on our neighborhood swap & it was sold a few hours later via contactless porch pickup. I wish every sale could be like that. :-)

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    1. Thank you! We found some vintage canning lids in our pantry and listed them online and they sold within the hour. It was funny really. Congrats to you for selling the skateboard kit a few hours later. I love it when that happens.

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  11. Hi Belinda
    Glad to hear that you are coping well during these strange times...well done on your first Etsy Sale.

    I cleaned my freezers out today and wrote an inventory of what was actually in them :) I don't need chicken for a good few weeks or mince steak...(ground beef)
    I am sure you are missing the yard sale trips with your daughter. All our charity shops are closed and I do really miss my little hunts. We do need a few replacement kitchen items and I will just have to wait a while to go searching.


    Love reading your updates
    God bless
    Effie

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    1. Thank you, Effie. I love having an inventory of foods we have on hand. We are definitely missing yard sales this year. So many times per day I think abut them. We will have to wait along with you until they are safe to go to again.

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  12. My metro is slowly opening with many rushing to salons. I cut DH's hair and do my own nails, so no salon glee for us. A local donut shop opened this past week but had to post that they no longer could take call-in orders. More business than could be handled.

    Getting out and about is not priority for us with 2 exceptions: best weather for zoo and botanic garden. Days come when we need to be with giant pandas and polar bears. :)

    You do well sheltering and cooking at home and caring for health needs, Belinda. This has been and still is a battle we have not won. Do wonder how we all will manage if there is another time this year of Covid-19, not forgetting we continue to fight our first onslaught.
    -memphis metro

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    1. I read about another food business that opened back up that couldn't handle the rush. We've not been to any business in weeks. We've been cutting our hair at home too. We are like you all, Anna. Getting out and about is not a priority for us either.

      Only time will tell what will come in the future. God knows the plan though, so as always, like you all, we rely on Him.

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  13. Belinda,
    I want to thank you for the information regarding the Free Heirloom Seeds. I placed an order and made a donation and received my seeds already. I check your blog almost everyday.

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    1. Oh, that is so great. Thank you for letting me know. Thank you so much for being such a loyal reader. I sure do appreciate it. :)

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  14. Happy belated Birthday! I hope it was amazing!💕🎂🎈🎈🎉
    Hugs Patti from San Diego

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    1. Thank you, Patti. It was a good birthday. :)

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