First Frugal Friday of Frugal February 2023
Welcome to Friday!
My Frugal Week
Bailey and I did a pet sitting job in the secret city of Oak Ridge, Tennessee this week. We were out of town, but only ate out one time as a treat. Otherwise, I made easy things to eat because I don’t like to cook like I do at home in someone else’s kitchen. Foods were things like bagels with cream cheese and fruit for breakfast, sandwiches for lunch, heat and eat items for dinners.
We were in an area that offered Walmart delivery, which is something we don’t have at home. We do have Walmart Plus though, so the delivery was free even though I only ordered $26 worth of items. What a great convenience for people who have this service available to them regularly. I could easily get used to this service.
We actually found and went to a yard sale while we were there! Bailey found two things for her shops, but I left empty handed, but that is ok. There isn’t anything that I need right now and I really enjoy having less stuff to take care of and store.
On Tuesday, our last day in Oak Ridge, we went to the Knoxville store of McKay Used Books. I thought their Knoxville store would offer more items than Chattanooga because it is a bigger town, but I think the Chattanooga store offers a little bit more.
The reason for this could be that Knoxville has so many Little Free Libraries all over the town. We had fun going to several of them, and some of them even matched the house where they were located.
Finally, we ate out one time at Yassin’s Falafel House where we ordered the Grilled Chicken Shawrma which came with a delicious garlic white sauce. All in all it was a fun trip, but I am glad to be home again.
Freebies
Pet Smart gave us a booklet, which had a coupon for a free bag of cat food.
Question of the Week
Inquiring minds want to know…do you think there is a conspiracy surrounding the chicken feed and chickens not laying eggs and the price of eggs right now? Several reports have come up recently that chickens who are fed commercial feed have not been laying eggs in the last few months, but once the owners change the feed to a different one the chickens start laying eggs again. Hmm…
I think it was a combination of the chickens not laying eggs contributing to the egg shortage along with the Avian chicken flu, which led to the killing of thousands of chickens.
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We were close to a Kroger and stopped in and found apples, potatoes, and clementines for 99 cents a bag. Also found a marked down salad with apples, sandwich and chicken tenders.
Meals This Week
All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here.
* If you see a dinner in bold print that means we had it more than once this week.
Mini Charcuterie BoardChicken Tenders, Apple SaladPork Tamales, Potato SaladBBQ Sandwiches, Potato SaladBetter Cheddars, SaladChicken Shawarma Pitas with garlic white sauceFluffy Baked Omelet, Baked Potatoes, CornLoose Meat Hamburgers, Chips
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.
BelindaMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27
(Little Penpen) ooooh that sounds like a fun week. I would totally pet sit for someone like that, I’ll bet the Walmart delivery was VERY nice! I’m hearing a lot about the chicken feed controversy too and not sure what to think. People are now saying there is a protein in healthy eggs that makes the Covid vaccine ineffective. So now they are saying the “bad” chicken feed is supposed to destroy that protein. So many conspiracy theories! I’m glad my dad’s chickens mostly free range and we still get healthy and free eggs! 😊
ReplyDeleteWow, I hadn’t heard that theory. I don’t know if we will ever know for sure. The Walmart delivery was so, so neat! I loved it. 💕
DeleteI love that house shaped little library. :)
ReplyDeleteAren’t they just so cute?! I didn’t get a picture Of the one we saw that looked like the house, but it was adorable too.
DeleteSo glad you were able to enjoy a mini vacation! That sounds wonderful. We always enjoy going to the Smokies every year.
ReplyDeleteYum on the shawrama!
When we had chickens, they always would stop laying during the winter months. I agree with you.
HOpe you have a great weekend.
Thank you, Kathy. It was a really nice week. I hope you have a great weekend too.
DeleteSounds like a nice week and something different. Not so much into the conspiracy thing on chickens. It is winter and many chickens quit laying under a certain temperature. I have seen many who have been buying the feed (that has been mentioned) and they are thrilled with it. I guess you just never know for sure.
ReplyDeleteHave a nice weekend.
So true, Cheryl. We will never know for sure. We will weather this “storm” too. 😊
DeleteI love shawarma! Glad you got a chance to check out a fun restaurant while you were house sitting.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been following the chicken conspiracies, and thought most of the price increase was due to the avian flu.
Thank you. We really like the chicken shawarma too. I thought it was about the avian flu too.
DeleteWhen we had Walmart plus they would deliver at 10 -11 PM after we had gone to bed! That was why we cancelled. What a pain in the neck and scary to have a strange car in the driveway with our security cameras alerting us after we had gone to bed!
ReplyDeleteOne major egg producer has made 18 times their normal profits in 2022 and is being investigated for price gouging.
OMG! I wouldn’t want them delivering that late here either. 😞
DeleteI read that about the high profits the egg producers made last quarter too. They NEED to be investigated for price gouging.
Sounds like you had a very interesting time. Love the little libraries that match the home.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you, Jackie.
DeleteThere was a huge fire at a Chicken farm in Conn. Last weekend, they say that it killed more than100,000 chickens. Google for more info
ReplyDeleteOh no! How terrible!
DeleteI have chickens, and I think the chicken feed story is unsubstantiated nonsense. Many people here have chickens, and, last year, there was a huge jump here in chick sales to new, backyard chicken owners, due to predictions of egg scarcity due to Avian flu. I am sure that was country-wide. (And it was, because chicks were hard to get.)Unfortunately, these people probably didn't research how to tend their flocks, how to supplement feed, AND, how the lack of light in winter stops egg production. Also, if you keep your birds in a small, dark, cramped coop, they won't lay either. Chickens are livestock, and require a bit of knowledge to care for properly. And to do so isn't cheap! But, by all means, let's chase another dumb-ass conspiracy theory instead of ignorance (and cruelty...you should see how some people out here keep their poor birds.) Also, some varieties have very short laying lives. I have one girl, two years old, who hasn't laid an egg in over a year. (Must have been zapped by the Jewish Space Laser that caused the wildfires east of here. Can't be that her breed of bird, now, can it?)
ReplyDeleteOh yes! We’ve raised chickens here and spent more on feed than we would have spent on eggs, so raising chickens may not be cheaper than buying eggs.
DeleteYour pet sitting trip sounds so much fun and nice. I love WalMart delivery. Yes, it is easy to get spoiled. If you order a lot they can come like eight times in one day. Ask me how I know this? ROFL.
ReplyDeleteI rescue birds. I don't have any birds right now since we were going to move. I will be taking in some hopefully this Summer. My family has always rescued birds. I do have inside knowledge on what is going on in the bird world. It is the avian flu, sadly, that is causing the egg shortage since so many birds had to be put down. Bird flu is a lot like Covid in the way if you have a crowded area then it spreads like wildfire. You have a large hatchery then it is spreading. The problem with this is that wild birds are also visiting these hatcheries and now spreading the flu too. Hatcheries can be contained but wild birds can't. It will get better but it will also be like Covid. It's going to take awhile to become endemic, three years on the caution side.
Do I think it could be chicken feed? It could be. It would be not surprising if hatcheries are using a new feed because it is cheaper or because they can not get the regular feed due to all the shortages. Also the regular feed could have different ingredients because of the shortages. Yes, the chickens might not be laying in the capacity the hatcheries would like because of the feed. The chickens would need the vitamins, minerals & hormones in the feed to help them lay eggs. If there is a change the chickens will have to adapt. I hope I explained this ok, lol. There are so many nuances. Birds are finicky, especially chickens. One thing is off and they are not laying. Right now there are several issues that could make them not lay- flu, shortages, cold weather, bad chicken PMS day. :) No, I don't believe in a chicken feed conspiracy. Yes, there are shortages and that might be affecting the feed in some ways. A good hatchery will be able to compensate for that.
I haven't checken in awhile. I got a new puppy. Now, I have two puppies in the home, lol. Tiring but I am having so much fun.
Thank you so much for the great explanation, Safyne. You did a great job explaining it. How fun is a new puppy? Awwww….I’m happy for you. They are so much fun!
DeleteOoops, cat stepped on keyboard before I could finish that last sentence: One good thing, perhaps is that this backyard flock craze might just open people's eyes to what it takes to raise/grow/produce food. But then, maybe I have too high of an opinion about my neighbors. And don't get me started on HONEYBEES.
ReplyDeleteAn excellent point, Meg. My Grandfather was a master gardener and always had at the very least 3 huge gardens. My grandmother preserved a huge majority of it and I know how hard they worked to do that. Some people may not realize that.
Deletethat is exactly why the eggs have gone up in price. It's all over the news.
ReplyDeleteToday we learned that Land O Lakes and Purina own 90% of the egg production in this country! There is something to this. 🧐
DeleteI live in the Northeast (outside NYC) and we have no egg shortage that I have noticed. I get my eggs delivered with my milk from a local dairy, but even in the supermarkets eggs are fully stocked and don't seem to have gone up in price any more than other groceries. So strange. Maybe regional? Maybe a demand issue?
ReplyDelete