Fourth Frugal Friday of July 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
There are so many ways to save money and no week is ever the same around here. I don’t always know what my frugal week will look like, but I like writing this blog as it keeps a written record of our frugal ways down through the years.  And I like sharing it with you, my friends. I hope you’ve had a good week. 
One savings we had this month here in Tennessee includes a new state law where the state registration fees for some motor vehicles will be waived for the next year. 
As a result of that new law, Bailey only had to pay $11 to renew her car registration this month instead of the usual $23. Another savings we will see comes in August where sales tax on all food will drop to zero for the month. 
Since the heat has let up a little bit, we went to multiple yard sales on Friday and Saturday. It’s good to get out of the house from time to time and yard sales are always so much fun as we never know what we will find. 
Here are some of the things we found…

The first thing I found was this set of cubby drawers, which I placed next to my sewing area and will be perfect for sewing supplies. I’ve had them piled on my desk until I could find something to corral them into and this is perfect. One of the handles is missing, which can easily be replaced. It was just $2.00 and just what I needed. 
Another item I found was this coat rack for only 50 cents! It even came with a green umbrella since the lady said “take that umbrella too!” As we were picking it up to load in the car. 

As you know, I’ve been searching for items to store things vertically and Bailey and I were talking about a coat rack and low and behold we found one and at such a great price. 

We found a brand new Tervis cup for 50 cents. Bailey bought it for the handle to use on her own Harry Potter Tervis cup. This cup didn’t have a lid, but that is no problem. 
We have a two gallon Ziplock bag filled with Tervis lids we bought at Bed, Bath & Beyond on clearance for 25 cents each. We bought them for this very reason. We see so many Tervis cups at yard sales with no lids. 

We found these new in the package mesh laundry bags for 25 cents. There are four of them in total and we will use these for various projects around the house. There are some things (like flannel backed plastic table covers) that we use through the year and so when we find them inexpensively, we buy them. 

Bailey found a great deal on Young Living essential oils. This lady had these priced individually and wanted $60 for the entire set, but Bailey asked her if she would take $30 for all of them and she did. Some of them are not even opened. There were 23 bottles in all, so each one was $1.30, which is a fantastic price for Young Living. 
Other items we found include a towel for 50 cents, several cat toys, a new cat watering dish and food bowl, and some brand new cans of Microban. 
We also found a deal on shelves this week on Facebook Marketplace. The shelves Bailey needs for her business are $150 each on Amazon, so she has been buying one every time she saves up the money. She found a lady with three of them for $80 each on FB Marketplace, which is a savings of $70 for each shelf. 
I took the fans out of the kitchen this week, took them apart, and gave them a good scrubbing with hot soapy water, and put them back together. I also vacuumed the air filters on all the window air conditioners. Air flows better through a clean filter or fan, which makes the appliance not work as hard, which saves money on the electric bill. 
We’ve been continuing to add to our basket of items we are decluttering and selling at the local consignment sale in September. I’ve been going through a cabinet or drawer here and there and adding things to it that we no longer use.
Joy of the Week

I’m content with my life as it is these days. I don’t need expensive vacations or fancy cars and clothes. I enjoy staying home, taking care of the things we have, reading or watching a favorite tv program, and loving on our cats. This is what I call the good life and being content with my lot in life is a big part of that. 

Photo of the Week

Here is a photo of the chicken coop we bought a couple of weeks ago while at a yard sale. It’s the perfect size for just two chickens. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Taking inventory of my stockpile this week I realized I had everything I needed on hand to make chili. I just needed to soak some dried beans overnight to make chili beans.
I had plenty of hamburger and tomatoes and onions on hand, so I made Chili for dinner on Wednesday. I used the last of a cut up onion from the refrigerator before using a new one. 
On Thursday night I added elbow macaroni and cheese to make Chili Mac for dinner. I also decided to make some cornbread patties to go with it and it really made the meal. 
One day I used up the last of the veggie burgers Mom had in the freezer, so as not to waste them. And one morning I used my last banana from the freezer to make a smoothie for breakfast. I froze some greens at their use by date in a ziplock bag for smoothies for another day.

One day this week I realized I had a small three section shelf that I could repurpose. We bought it a few years ago at a yard sale, but now it was sitting unused, so I claimed it for my spice section in one of the cabinets in the kitchen.
Going vertical with your storage is really the way to go. Before I did this I would try and stack things in that section, but this is so much better. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Taco Stacks with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. 
Saturday: Taco Stacks with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. 
Sunday: Len Penzo’s Macaroni & Cheese (recipe below), Steamed Broccoli.
Monday: Lemon Pepper Chicken with Bacon, Buttered Basmati Rice, Steamed Broccoli.
Tuesday: Movie Night ~ Pizza. 
Wednesday: Homemade Chili Mac
Thursday: Homemade Chili Mac. 
Recipe of the Week

Len’s Cheap and Easy Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups low-fat or whole milk

8 oz Velveeta cheese (cut into small cubes)

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese (shredded)

16 oz elbow macaroni, or small pasta shells

Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta shells according to the package directions.

Heat milk until it just comes to a boil, stirring occasionally. 

Reduce heat and mix in the Velveeta cheese.

Stir until completely melted. 

Add cheddar cheese and stir until melted. 

Add salt and pepper, if desired. 

Pour cheese sauce over the pasta shells and mix thoroughly. 

Serves 4

Saving on Entertainment
I enjoy shows such as Dateline and 20/20, so when I saw the show, Murder In The Heartland, I figured I would like it too and I was right. There are multiple episodes on Facebook that you can watch for free if you like mystery type shows. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Frugal Living When Less Means More by Fhilcar Faunillan ~ Whoever proofread this book for publication did a very poor job as I’ve not seen a book with so many typos. 

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
We would love to hear all about your week in the comment section.
BelindaDebt Free & ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree