First Frugal Friday of February 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week

Bailey and I made a trip just south of Atlanta to Decatur, Georgia last Friday night. We went to an author event at a locally owned small business bookstore called Little Shop of Stories. It is the cutest little bookstore. 💕 

They have the bathroom decorated with book covers as wallpaper.

On Sunday I deep cleaned my bedroom, moving and dusting furniture, vacuuming the entire room, and putting up new curtains. These are thermal black out curtains, and I wanted them to cover the windows in the cold winter months. 
What a difference the new curtains have already made. My bedroom temperature is about five degrees warmer, so they will help save money on the electric bill. I woke up at eight a.m. Monday morning, but it was still dark in my bedroom when normally it is light and bright. 

I went to fill my car up on Monday and stopped at our new Food City to get in on an El Paso sale. If you bought five items you could get them for $1.49, which sells at Walmart for $3.48, so this was $1.99 less, which is a great deal. Unfortunately, they only had three cans left, so I also bought two taco sauces to make it up to five items.
While I was there I also bought this marked down package of ground beef. 

On Tuesday I had an errand to run and stopped in at Walmart and was able to buy two of their rotisserie chickens on markdown for $3.97. Bailey requested egg whites, but they were completely sold out of them. 
Wednesday was my last day of in-home physical therapy as they discharged me because I’m doing really well. I see my orthopedic surgeon on Friday for a follow up and to get started on my left knee. 
Freebies
Not actually a freebie, but I found a Yeti cup this week. How cool is that?
Photo of the Week
On Friday, the day we went to the bookstore near Atlanta, our electric bill usage was only 23.62 kWh. I love it!

Savings of the Week
It was very cold when I was in Walmart on Tuesday, so I took a look at their sweaters and jackets because I need one in a smaller size, so I found an open front sweater on clearance for $17 and put it on while I finished shopping. I was like Minnie Pearl with the price tag still on it as I shopped. LOL
Saving Money YouTube Videos
35 Extreme Ways to Save Money on Food ~ Prepper Princess

There is a peace that fills my soul when I am at home, doing everyday tasks such as laundry, putting groceries away, cleaning, cooking, or whatever else may need my attention.  I’ve been so much more productive around our home with the added mobility from my new knee. I’ve carried in all the groceries making multiple trips up and down the stairs, which was impossible before. This has renewed my spirit in a way I haven’t experienced in a long time. 

How was your week?

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #1 February 2025

My Frugal Week

We did not eat out at any restaurant, get take out, or eat any fast food in January. I would love to do the same for February as it really helps save money by eating at home. 

On Saturday I was running errands close to Kroger, so I stopped in to pick up some sale items and to check their markdowns. 

I found these two tubs of power greens on mark down for $1.57.

For sale items, I picked up five bags of their two pound bags of cheese for $5.99. They were out of the three pound bags of onions for $1.99 though. 

I did find four packages of meat on markdowns though, which are now in my freezer along with the cheese. 

Food Added to the Pantry this Week:

3 cans pears
3 cans green peas
4 cans corn

1 can mixed vegetables 

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Oranges

15 Grapefruit

1 Sweet Potato

5 pounds russet potatoes 

2 bags frozen peas

5 - 2 pound bags cheese

1 pound pinto beans  

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Turkey BBQ, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Sugar Snap Pea Stir Fry. I took the last of the turkey breast and chopped it up in my food processor and added BBQ sauce, pepper, and onion powder. It was a big hit and that made me happy. 

Movie Night Tuesday ~ Leftovers, Chicken & vegetables for me and BBQ Turkey & vegetables for Bailey. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Sausages, Baked Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts. 

Thursday ~ Tacos, Flour or Corn Tortillas, Red Onions, Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Tomatoes & Lettuce, and Corn. 

Friday ~ We were on the road to Atlanta, so no dinner at home. We had taco leftovers before we left and brought cheese sticks and granola bars with us in case we got hungry.

Saturday ~ Grilled Beef/Cheese Hotdogs sans buns, Sautéed Cabbage & Onions, Choice of Baked Sweet or Yukon Gold Potato.

Sunday ~ Chicken Fajitas on choice of Corn or Flour Tortillas, Tomatoes, Lettuce, Red Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Bok Choy & Garlic, and Corn. 

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Fifth & Final Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
We have a brand new Food City about five miles from our house now and I went on Saturday morning to get some of the Luck’s beans they had on sale for 50 cents each. I love their chili beans and haven’t duplicated them with their delicious sauce at home, so I like to keep them in my pantry. The new store is beautiful and I’m so happy it’s so close to the house now. 
It was so nice to get out of the house and drive again. My new knee is working very well and it’s so much easier to walk around in the driveway and get in and out of my car. I’m so excited to think about all of the possibilities in store for me after having limited mobility for so long. 
Wednesday was such a busy day that started with physical therapy and then I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with my brother, sister, and the realtor. It’s not that my brother didn’t want to sell the land, but he wanted more than his fair share of the money. But we had a long talk this week and worked it all out. 
Health News & Exercise 
This week I rode my bicycle pedals for one hour each day. 
Physical Therapy came three days this week while Occupational Therapy came for one final time. 
Physical Therapy has noted my blood pressure has been low multiple times when they've come to see me this month. So, I sent a message through MyChart to my primary care physician to let her know. She adjusted my medication accordingly. All through my weight loss my blood pressure medication has been reduced multiple times, which I love. I would love to get off of it entirely. 
Freebies
This was a good week for freebies. 

This was the best freebie this week. Three pairs of 2.5+ reading glasses from Zeno Optical. They are the highest quality too. 

Four bottles of hot sauces. I’ll be giving these to someone who enjoys hot sauce.
And a free haircut from Supercuts. I’m on an email group of theirs from a few years ago and every now and then they send an email offering free haircuts. So, I went on Thursday and had mine trimmed, it looks so much better. I have let my hair grow out some since my last hair cut. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Ali Lives Well on Less, her YouTube channel, and Ali’s blog are both very good resources. 
That was my week I a nutshell. It was very busy and a lot of talking on the phone. How was your week? I hope it was a great one!

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in My Frugal Kitchen Week #4 January 2025

 

My Frugal Week

One thing I loved about my Mom is no matter what I made in the kitchen, I could always count on her to eat any leftovers. If I made something that I didn't care for, Mom would eat it. Now I can count on Bailey to do that too. It makes it so much easier to not waste any food. 

During my recovery from knee surgery I wasn’t allowed to drive since it was my right knee that was replaced. So, we didn’t do much grocery shopping at all, but rather used our pantry and freezer to make meals. As a result, our freezer has had a real thorough clean out. It’s amazing how many meals we’ve been able to make and yet I still have a list of meals we can make. 

This week’s Pantry Additions:

5 pounds Idaho Potatoes

10 cans Luck’s Chili Beans

Half gallon Almond Breeze almond milk

What’s for Dinner

Monday & Tuesday  ~ Honey Baked Ham & Soup Beans, Stir Fry Vegetable & Cornbread. I used my last Honey Baked ham bone for this dinner and used soup beans (great northern) to cook with it. I had stir fry vegetables left from Sunday Dinner and made cornbread to go alongside. 

Wednesday ~ BBQ Pork Chops, Hot Potato Salad, Green Peas. 

Thursday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage, Baked Sweet Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli. 

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions. 

Saturday ~ Grilled Chicken, Green Beans & Onions, Corn, Grape Tomatoes. 

Sunday ~ 

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

We regularly serve one or two meatless bean based meals each week in order to money on meat.

Monday ~ Bean Based Dish

Movie Night Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Pasta Night

Thursday ~ Bean Based Dish

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties

Saturday ~ Tacos

Souper Sunday ~ Soup

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Fourth Frugal Friday of January 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

A time may come that every arrow in our frugal quiver will be needed so learning now will help you then. ~ Becky @ Frugal Measures

My Frugal Week
Frugal Things We’ve Done This Week Include:
- Leave the oven door open after using to let the heat into the house. - No eating out- Made sure all our windows and doors are closed up tight. Rolled up towels placed at the bottom of the windows will stop cold air from coming in. Draft dodgers along the bottom of doors and a coat hung on the doorknob also help. Plastic window kits are also good as well as thermal or wool insulated curtains. 
Last Friday I met with a relator in order to sell my Dad's land across the road. When it does sell, Bailey & I will add this to our house fund for when we buy our own home. Unfortunately my brother has stopped a prospective sale, so now we are consulting an attorney in regards to partition. 
While the relator was here last Friday, he helped Bailey to get her car unstuck. They went downstairs into Dad's workshop and found a towing chain and pulled it right out. We were so thankful!

This week I replaced an infrared heater in my bedroom with a ceramic heater. This is the Lasko Oscillating Ceramic Space Heater. Years ago when I was subbing at the middle school the gym teacher had this heater in her office and it worked very well to heat her office. 
The reason I replaced the heater is because one of the bulbs had burned out in the infrared heater and it was blowing cold air. I did some reading and replacing a bulb isn't recommended, so I bought the ceramic heater instead. It has really made a difference in the temperature in my bedroom too. 

About two weeks I also purchased this Contour Leg & Knee Pillow for my knees. Ever since my knee surgery they hurt when I lay on my side at night and this has helped to alleviate the pain. I’ve used it every night since it came in the mail and it has really helped me sleep better.
Physical Therapy came on Monday, Wednesday & Friday of this week while Occupational Therapy came on Thursday. 
Eye Doctor News
On Tuesday I went to the retina specialist. He wanted me to try to go six weeks between my last injection and this one, That turned out to be a mistake. My eyesight started to fail last week and I couldn’t even read the book I was currently reading. So, I’m back to injections every four weeks and he is trying a new medication.
It’s frightening how fast my eyesight went downhill. So, if you see any typos on my comments on your posts just ignore them. I was having to zoom out to read much this past week, but by Thursday morning, my eyesight was so much better. Reading was much clearer too. 
Freebies
If you're interested, you can get a free copy of the Amish Schoolteacher's Escape book. When I signed up for it, the author also sent me a download to another one of her books for free, 

Martha, an Amish schoolteacher in Unity, Maine, loves her job and her community. When Jake Sullivan proposes to her and she turns him down, her parents think she is foolish for turning down such a good catch.

Joy of the Week
The nurse called from my surgeon’s office and told me I can try driving again if I felt ready to dive. Woo Hoo! 
Photo of the Week

It was definitely chilly here at six degrees this week, but no snow like further down south, so I'm counting our blessings. 
Question of the Week
I would like for Frugal Workshop to be a place where you can come to find solutions for dealing with the financial times in which we live.  If you're not alr3ady frugal, It's definitely time to get frugal in the real sense of the word. 

So, my question of the week is this, are you having to adjust your budget each month to make up for the latest price increases or no? How are you adjusting?

Avoiding Spending
We did very well not spending any money this week. Except for what gas we used on Tuesday for the eye doctor, we came home afterwards and didn’t spend any money. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
25 Cheap Amish ways to Stay Warm Without Gas or Electricity
Saving Money on Entertainment
We are still enjoying our subscription to Hulu. I've always been a big fan of M*A*S*H and so I've spent the last week rewatching those episodes. 
What I've been Reading This Week
National Geographic The Secrets of Long Life ~ 12 page PDF on the secrets of the Blue Zones and living a long life. 
How was your week?

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #3 January 2025

Recipe of the Week

This is a new to me recipe, but I made some changes to make it align more with our way of eating these days. Rather than add sour cream, I used blended cottage cheese for more protein and less fat. This recipe called for biscuits, but I left them out entirely. The recipe calls for a rotisserie chicken, which I did not have, but did have regular chicken, so I used that instead.

Creamy Chicken Enchilada Bake

Ingredients:

1 Rotisserie Chicken

10 ounces mild red enchilada sauce

1/2 cup cottage cheese, blended until smooth

1 packet fajita or taco seasoning mix

8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Remove skin from chicken and chicken from bone. 

Cut into desired size pieces and set aside. 

Combine red enchilada sauce, cottage cheese, and fajita seasoning together. 

Whisk until smooth.

Add chicken into the mixture and make sure everything is well coated.

Smooth out in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.

Bake for 45 min uncovered.

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Beenie Weenies ~ I used a package of good hotdogs from UGO that we bought for $1.99. The can of Bush's zero baked beans was given to us by a friend, so no cost there. I added some date sugar, mustard, pepper, and BBQ sauce to the crockpot to enhance the flavors. This was served with baked apples and steamed broccoli.

Movie Night Tuesday ~ In order to use it up and avoid food waste, we enjoyed leftovers on this night. Bailey had Beanie Weenies, Broccoli, and Apples while I enjoyed the last of the salmon Pattie’s and opened up some green peas to go with them. 

Wednesday ~ Creamy Chicken Enchilada Bake, Carrots, and Peas. This was a big hit, so I’ll be be adding it to our regular rotation. 

Thursday & Friday ~ Turkey & Dressing with Gravy, and Green Beans with Onions. I had some cooked turkey, and some dressing in the freezer, so I used those in the crockpot for this dish. I made a seasoned white sauce/gravy to top it with and then added seasoned green beans to the top. This used up several containers from my freezer and pantry. We are using up what we have to make meals here and not spending any extra money on groceries. 

Saturday & Sunday ~ Chicken Stir Fry ~ I gathered up a lot of vegetables such as an onion, red bell pepper, Chinese vegetables, Some Kale salad kits I had stuck in the freezer, cauliflower rice, sesame oil, Sun Bird fried rice seasoning packet (my favorite), and soy sauce. I added this to my skillet after I browned the chicken. It was enough for two days worth of meals and lunch another day.

What’s on the Menu for This Coming Week

We regularly serve one or two meatless bean based meals each week in order to money on meat.

Monday ~ Bean Based Dish

Movie Night Tuesday - Leftovers

Wednesday ~ Pasta Night

Thursday ~ Bean Based Dish

Fish on Friday ~ Salmon Patties

Saturday ~ Tacos

Souper Sunday ~ Soup

Be sure to come back next week to see what sides we serve with these main dishes.

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

Mortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27