First Frugal Friday of February 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
PayPal gave me $15.50 in cash back in January for using my PayPal debit card. I love getting free money.
Finally I received the refund from my eye surgery provider. That’s $74.60 back in my bank account. 
We found graham crackers at Food City on clearance for 50 cents per box. 
Walmart has been out of stock on canned vegetables we use like corn and green beans.  They charge 50 cents per can while Target charges 55 cents per can. I like to keep at least 12 on hand, so I went ahead and ordered the maximum Target allows, which is ten cans. I bought enough items (corn, green beans, diced green Chili’s, low sodium three beans, Rotel, and pickled beets) to get free shipping on the order ($35). 
The lock on our back door was getting harder and harder to open and lock, so we had both the door lock and the deadbolt replaced this week. These were the original locks from 1986 when the house was built, so it was time. Cost to repair was $144, which included both locks. 
We stopped at the bread outlet while we were in Chattanooga on Monday and picked up Dave’s Killer Bread for $3.00 per loaf, cinnamon raisin bread, hamburger buns, and carrot cakes. 
We received two free magazines in the mail this week. 
Joy of the Week
In April 2020 devastating tornadoes in this area leveled the East Brainard Goodwill store in Chattanooga. The store was rebuilt and reopened in April of 2021. On Monday we had an appointment in Chattanooga and made a visit to the new store. 

There was no crowd, we wore our masks and maintained good social distancing. It was so nice to thrift again. I found several useful items such as flannel baby blankets for 99 cents. Have you seen the price of these on eBay? I’m used to yard sale prices and the ones on eBay are too much for my budget, so I was thrilled to find these. 

I also found a new tortilla cooker, two small zipper pouches. I like to put items in these and then put them in my purse to keep it organized. 
Avoiding Spending
Frugal Queen had this to say on Facebook this week and I wanted to share for those who didn’t see it.

Years ago, when I heard Dave Ramsay say, when you write a budget you give yourself a pay rise and give yourself permission to spend. 
It’s brilliant being frugal, looking for bargains, cutting corners, home cooking, doing your own DIY but if you’re not on top of your budget, it can all seem a bit hit and miss. 
I know it sounds nerdy but I love our budget, if I want clothes, there’s a budget, if I want to buy paint, or household items, there’s a budget.
I also like watching our small savings pot get a little bigger each month

. Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Remember those extra groceries we got by mistake last week? I did my best to incorporate them into some of our meals this week so as to not waste them. Of course some of the items went straight to the Little Free Pantry like the baby food. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Bailey had a book club meeting and they serve snacks, so we just ate a light dinner of salad with cheese and crackers. 
Saturday: Polish Kielbasa, Broccoli Rice and Cheese, Mixed Vegetables, Beets
Sunday: Chicken Fajitas, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli
Monday: Shrimp, Teriyaki Noodles, Broccoli, Cabbage, and Kale Greens
Tuesday: It’s movie night, so a late lunch and homemade pizzas. 
Wednesday: Better Cheddars, Scalloped Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables
Thursday: Hamburgers, Salad, Corn
Recipe of the Week
Part of the groceries we received last week included three pounds of potatoes, so this was the prefect recipe to use those. 

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 pounds potatoes, sliced 

¼ cup butter

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

To make the sauce, melt butter, onion and garlic over medium low heat. Cook until onion is softened. 

Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low. 

Combine milk and broth. 

Add a small amount at a time,  and whisk to thicken until smooth.

Bring to a boil over medium heat while continuing to whisk.  

Stir in salt and pepper and let boil for 1 minute.

At this point you can add one cup of cheese to make Au Gratin Potatoes. 

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 

Combine potatoes with sauce and place in pan.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown.

Saving on Entertainment
We’ve been catching up on This is Us this week. The show has such good writers. 
That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree