Fifth & Final Frugal Friday of May 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

“Learn skills that will bless your family. […] Once you learn something then don't stop there, learn more”. ~ Becky @ Frugal Measures

My Frugal Week

Last Friday was my last day of physical therapy. I went to yard sales before and after PT and also went by the library. At the library they were selling DVDs priced at five for $1.00, so 20 cents each. I bought all ten of the exercise DVDs they had, so now that PT is over, I can use them on my $10 yard sale TV/DVD player. 
At yard sales I picked up a measuring glass pitcher, a sink strainer/drainer, one shirt, one shelf with hooks, new Instant Pot silicone lid, mirror on a stand for my desk, one canister, and two Aladdin hot food thermoses. 

            

Isn't this a beautiful pitcher? I saw it and liked it instantly and only paid $1.00 for it. I'm going to use it for when I make gelatin cups to pour from to avoid any drips. I did a little research and turns out it is a vintage Evenflo formula measuring pitcher from the 1950s. I love that it is vintage. 
I almost bought a hot food thermos last week to make lunches for my Florida family that came in, but decided against that. I’m so glad I did because I only paid $2 each for these from a yard sale and they were much higher than that in the store. 

Yard Sale Saturday
Bailey eats breakfast on the go on yard sale days, so I fixed her some turkey sausages and put them in one of thermoses I bought and she ate them in the car while I drove. 
It rained during the night and threatened to rain during the day and was overcast, so again yard sales were hit or miss. We started out the day in the historical St. Elmo neighborhood of Chattanooga at the St. Elmo Presbyterian Church where the Boy Scouts were having a yard sale. 
What they did have had been rained on, but we dove in anyway into boxes and bags of unsorted, unorganized stuff. Nothing was priced individually and we didn’t notice the price signs on the tables until they asked us where each item came from. 😬 Oops. 
We ended up making a deal and we agreed upon $15 for my bag of items. When I got home I counted how many items I had and it came to 18, so each piece was 83 cents. 

In the photo above you can see I got an Instant Pot stainless steel liner (wow!), three spoons, three canning jars, two of which were vintage and one was wide mouth (my favorite), a beautiful Lands End towel, homemade dish cloth, soap, three baby blankets, another jar, three books, a new magnetic notepad (goes into the gift closet), a set of stainless steel measuring cups, and some brand new magnets still in the box. It was so much fun and cheap entertainment. LOL
I also picked up a new wind chime for the back porch, priced at only $2.00. 
Sunday turned out to be a pretty day even though it was overcast. The temperature was 66 degrees, so I turned the a/c off and opened up the windows to air out the house. I also worked on my blog and did laundry in between. On Monday I stripped my bed and washed my sheets and blankets. 
I received a $50 gift card to Walmart from my insurance company for having a test done recently. One of the things I bought with it was a new windshield wiper as mine needed replacement. I watched a couple of YouTube videos to see if I could change it myself, but had no luck, so I asked a gentleman from church and he did it for me. Thanking the Lord for this blessing. 💕 
Freebies
On Tuesday I had errands to run and one of those included stopping in at the Chattanooga Free Store. I picked up a hoodie with kangaroo pocket for myself, three magazines, what I thought was a mason jar carrier, and a couple of lip balms. I had never been in there before, but had wanted to go for a long time now. I’ll definitely go back again someday. For those local folks, they let you shop once a week. 

While I was at the library this week, I decided to check out their free seed catalog, which they store in an old card catalog index file. I also checked out their toiletries closet. They offer sanitary products, makeup, nail polish, hair nets, and such. I picked up a trial size bottle of lotion and some press on nails for Bailey. 
Circle K gave me a free 28 ounce bottled drink as a reward, so I went in the store when I was out this week to pick it up. They are priced at $3.28, so a nice freebie and I stored it in the fridge. 

On Thursday I returned my car to the collision center shop for a new drivers side door handle, which was broken while they had my car. The owner says those things just wear out, but I think one of them was just too rough with it. 
I stopped in at the Samaritan Center too. Jackie over at In The Land of the Living Skies makes tinkle wipes to save money on toilet paper. While I was looking I noticed they had baby wash clothes, which would be perfect for this purpose. They were five for $1.00, so twenty cents each. I bought twenty of them, washed them, and put them in a basket in the bathroom. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
Is there anything better to a cat than an empty box? It sure does make for some inexpensive entertainment. 😂 
What I've been Reading This Week
My Money Saving Tips ~ Ilona, aka Mean Queen, over at Love my Life/Life After Money has this list on her blog on ways she saves money. She has always reminded me of someone who is hard core frugal like Amy Dacyczyn was. It’s a terrific list of ways she saves money and many of them are just good common sense and definitely worth the read. 
How was your week? Any frugal wins to share with us? 

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.

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27