Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #4 July 2025

My Frugal Week

This week I was still working on using up what we have here and our freezer is really emptying out. It's such a good feeling to use up those items and not let them go to waste. I've been using up a lot of our canned food items in the pantry as well. 

I made a grocery list over the weekend and will have a Walmart delivery this morning to replenish a few things and get some fresh produce. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Leftovers of Turkey Italian Sausage & Penne Pasta, and Cauliflower. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night usually means pizza here, which is what we had. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Burgers, Watermelon, and for dessert I picked up an 

individual bundtlet from Nothing But Bundt's in the s’mores flavor. It was more

than enough for the both of us and delicious.

Thursday ~ Leftovers of Chicken Burgers, Tuna Salad, and Bean Salad. No need to cook anything for dinner this night. 

Friday ~ Bailey had book club, so I was on my own for dinner. I ended up making two individual pizza bowls, one for me and one for her to eat whenever she was ready. I made them with cottage cheese, turkey pepperoni, pizza sauce, oregano, black olives, Parmesan, and mozzarella cheese. I mix all that up and bake them for 15 minutes. 

Saturday ~ Salmon Patties, Green Beans with Onions & Potatoes, and Carrots. 

Sunday ~ Chicken Burrito Bowls. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Before & After Weight Loss ~ Second Act Success

Image Credit

Disclaimer: This blog post doesn't have much to do with being frugal, but is more geared towards my weight loss over the years. So, if you aren't interested in that context, please feel free to skip this blog post. You won't hurt my feelings in the least. 

I'll start with this photo, which is a picture of me in the beauty salon getting my hair colored right after my Mom died. You can clearly see the Lymphedema load between my legs here. It had gotten so big that I was having trouble walking and I was determined that I was not going to live like this, this was my catalyst for change. 

The orthopedic doctor put me in a wheelchair in the summer of 2022 and didn't want me walking on my knees as the shinbone in my left leg was grinding down and you can't replace those. He also would not do the knee replacements until my BMI was 40 or less. So, I had to make a choice and I chose to change my life for the better. 

Here is a photo of me and Bailey in the cafeteria of her elementary school in 2007 back when she was in kindergarten. This is a photo of me at my highest weight. 

I know in my heart that God has been working on me for many years. My first weight loss attempts began was I was fourteen years old. I've had people pray for me to lose this weight for many years. I've attended countless seminars and went to specialists who have given me multiple tools down through the years to assist me. 

Finally something clicked in me and I took all of those tools and figured it out. 

This is what I look like today:

Belinda

Fourth Frugal Friday of July 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

My Frugal Week
Last Friday I stayed home while Bailey went to yard sales. I played catch up from the week and worked on kitchen laundry, folding and putting all our napkins, dish clothes, and dish towels away. Gathering the garbage together for the garbage men to pick up, vacuuming, and doing all the usual things that keep our home running smoothly. 
On Monday I measured clothes for Bailey and then I had an urge to clean and organize. So, I washed all the new to me yard sale clothes and folded and put those away, I decluttered and rearranged the big shelf in my bedroom, I gathered up items for the consignment sale and put them in an area of my closet designated for that. 
On Tuesday Bailey and I went to McKay Used Books to trade as the decluttering from Monday left me with a lot of books to trade.  We ended up with over $80 in trade credit. I didn't even have to use the $13 trade credit I saved from last time and we still didn't spend all of this credit either. 
On Wednesday I had errands to run and went to Gordon’s for black olives, CVS for an RX, Flowers Bakery Outlet for Keto buns, Super Cuts for Bailey to get a haircut, and Beall’s Outlet for Skinny Syrup. I bought the sugar free pistachio flavor and it is really good to ad to plain yogurt or drinks to flavor it with no added calories. 

Isn't this opened can a thing of beauty? Thanks to Carol in NC, who suggested this can opener, I can now open number ten cans in less than one minute. Woo Hoo!
Savings of the Week
Publix ~ Hellman’s Mayonnaise 

Publix had Hellman's mayonnaise on sale for buy one get one free this week and I had two $2.00 off one coupons. I also had a freebie on my account for the Ocean Spray drink mix and a $2.00 perk on my Publix account. I ended up paying $1.08 for the items in the picture. Score!

  Hellman's LIGHT MAYO                7.09 t F     Promotion                 -3.55 t F  Hellman's LIGHT MAYO                7.09 t F     Promotion                 -3.54 t F  DC Ocean Spray               -3.49   F  Club Publix Perk             -2.00 t F  VENDOR COUPON                -2.00   F  VENDOR COUPON                -2.00   F

       Adding Funds
I entered all my receipts into Fetch and NCP. 
On Sunday I sold an old trailer for $65 that had belonged to my Dad and had been sitting in the pole barn. That will give me yard sale cash for the next few weekends. 
Freebies
I already wrote a separate blog post about the free yard sale we went to on Saturday. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
Bailey really wanted to see How to Train Your Dragon at the theater before it leaves for the summer, so we went on $6 day on Tuesday. This film tells the story of Hiccup, a young Viking who befriends a young dragon, Toothless, challenging his tribe's traditions and revealing a different side to the creatures they've always fought. It was a cute movie and the theater was sold out, which surprised both of us as we went to the 1:00 matinee. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Not Buying Anything: Natural Silence ~ In this blog post the writer quotes Edith Sitwell where she says, “My personal hobbies are reading, listening to music, and silence.”  I get that as I enjoy silence sometimes too.  
That is all the news I have from here this week. How has your week been?

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

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

 My Frugal Week

I avoided most of the food waste the second time in the hospital unlike the first time I was there. But, I’ve been vigilant this week to use up anything that needed using. Things have settled down a little bit this week and I’m hoping this week will be even better. 

I made more gelatin fruit cups on Thursday as we had eaten all the ones I made before  and they are perfect especially when you’re not feeling well. 

I cut up a cabbage, broccoli, and onions for Thursday night dinner. And also air fried peaches and bananas for dinner the last few nights. One of my friends said they air fry pineapple, so I’m going to try that soon too. 

I was really in use it up mode this past week or so and used up several food items from the freezer that had been hanging around such as a package of hot dogs among other things.  

It's such a good feeling to use up these items and not let them go to waste. As a result of using up what's in the freezer, we had plenty of room in the freezer for our turkey sausage deal we got in on last week. 

Recipe of the Week

I made this quiche recipe for dinner on Friday since we have a lot of cottage cheese on hand, lower amounts of meat, and it only calls for four eggs, a win-win in our situation. 

Cottage Cheese Crustless Quiche

Ingredients:

1 & ½ cups cottage cheese

4 eggs

1 cup spinach, sauteed

1 cup onions, sauteed

½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

¼ cup parmesan cheese

One pinch nutmeg

½ teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon onion powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Grease a small casserole dish. 

Crack eggs into a bowl. 

Add cottage cheese, and spices.  

Whisk until smooth. 

Add in and stir other cheese, spinach, and onions. 

Pour into a casserole dish. 

Sprinkle with a little extra parmesan if desired. 

Place into the oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes until golden and set.

Let cool slightly before cutting. 

Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days.

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads, Cantaloupe. 

Tuesday ~ Pizzas we picked up on the way home.

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads, Queso & Chips, and Watermelon 

Thursday ~ Chicken Sausages, Fried Cabbage, Onions and Broccoli. 

Friday ~ Homemade Quiche, and the Fried Cabbage Stir Fry from Thursday. I also made a bean salad to go with dinner for the next few days too. Air fried peaches and bananas (400 degrees for 15 minutes), so delicious! 

Saturday ~ Beenie Weenies, Bean Salad , and Air Fried Peaches & Bananas. 

Sunday ~ Ground Turkey, which I turned into Italian Sausage. I served this with Penne Pasta in a Homemade Meat Sauce, and served Cauliflower as the vegetable. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Saturday Free Yard Sale

On Saturday we went to one yard sale, which was hosted by Crossroads Community Church. They host this yard sale every summer and everything is free.

In the picture above you can see several of the hard goods I picked up such as a tea cup & saucer, a pillowcase kit, brand new Pioneer Women place mats, a paper towel holder, a Matilda Jane water bottle, a metal food processor, a pink rug, several spurtles, storage jar, and Swiffer dry wipes. 

These were just a few of the things I picked up and I did get more things that didn’t make it into the picture. Things like a crossbody bag, more Keen shoes, fabric, basket, several pieces of jewelry and plenty of clothes. I just about filled my Hulken bag with clothing.

They had big ticket items too, but I didn’t look at those items as I was too busy looking at the fun stuff. They had a lot of furniture, bed clothes, pillows, and Christmas stuff, which I didn’t look at either as I was busy looking at things I enjoy. 

The crowd was a big one as you can imagine when everything is free, but was not overwhelming. Items did get picked up quickly and by the time we left was very much picked over. I thanked several of the volunteers on my way out for hosting such a terrific event in our community where people could get things they needed and not have to pay anything. 

It was a lot of fun, held indoors in the air conditioning, which was a plus. It was raining outside, so there weren't many yard sales otherwise. Bailey picked up several things for herself as well and had just as much fun as I did. 

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

Third Frugal Friday of July 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

Quote of the Week

Stop overspending on things you don’t need. Just stop. Decide and stop. There’s no secret magic wand. ~ Sara from Frozen Pennies

My Frugal Week
On Sunday evening we trapped the raccoon that had been tormenting us. I’m so glad to have him rehomed somewhere else. 
On Monday & Thursday I worked on getting the laundry washed including my bed linens. On Wednesday I worked on my other usual household tasks, which keeps our home running smoothly. We also weed eated in the yard some. 
Back on July 5th an anonymous person left me this comment about a can opener…

This is the NUFR Heavy Duty Crank Can Opener I’ve seen on Amazon, so I ordered it last week. I don’t have a number ten can in the house to open right now, but when I do I’ll be ready. I've had so much trouble with other can openers lasting for any length of time when it comes to the number ten cans. 

Deal of the Week
UGO had Jimmy Dean turkey sausage patties on sale this week for $1.00 per box of eight patties. 

This is a big savings over the retail price at Kroger, which sells this same box for $6.49. 

We bought four boxes of them, which each held eight packages, which is a total of 32 boxes. The retail value of 32 boxes at Kroger would have been $207.68, but we only paid $32 for ours, which makes this the best deal of the week. 

Freebies
Keep The Beat ~ Heart Healthy Recipes 
Heart Healthy Home Cooking African American Style

Health News
I received a good report from my recent mammogram last week. 
On Tuesday I was able to get an opening and went back to the hospital and had the kidney stent removed. The urologist blasted the stone and put in a temporary stent to remove any fragments left from the stone. 
Photo of the Week
Here is an updated picture of me that I took on Tuesday. 

Avoiding Spending
We did not avoid spending this week as we needed supplies for several different things such as groceries and such. And Bailey plans on going to yard sales this weekend, so that will be money spent too.   
Saving Money YouTube Videos
6 Low Income Frugal Habits That Help You Survive on $1,170 a Month ~ This video comes from the YouTube Channel of Sara Conklin who creates content at Frozen Pennies. 
Sara has a speaking style that I enjoy as she is on task and says what she wants to say quickly without wasting your time. She also wrote the book Fundamentally Frugal. I think you'll enjoy a lot of her free content. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
This week I broke down and joined Netflix for $7.99 per month with ads. I just decided that with being sick lately, I wanted to be able to just veg out, lay in bed, and watch stuff. I don’t know if we will keep it or not, but it’s cheaper than going out to the movies. 
What I've been Reading This Week
SavingAdvice.com Blogs ~ There are some real gems here to read and learn to build your frugal skills. They also have forums here, like the old AOL frugal message boards, if you're interested in those. 
Cooking on a Small Budget ~  from The Frugal Kitchen
In Conclusion 
I hope you've had a good week. I've went ahead and planned out my budget for the month of August and hope and pray that it works according to plan. Here is hoping we all have a good frugal month. 

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

Saving Money on Food from Home at the Grocery Store

If you are trying to save money by taking your food and snacks with you when you leave the house this tip is for you. 
Even with good planning on my part, there are times when we are out of the house longer than I had planned and we need something to eat. 
One time when we were out of the house with no food, I decided to go to the grocery store. 
Here is what I purchased:
I went to the deli and purchased 1/2 pound of the deli meat they had on sale, which cost me $2.50. I had them slice it thin to stretch it as far as possible. 
I also picked up a couple of single use mayonnaise packets from the deli, so no cost for those. I also picked up a loaf of bread for 86¢ (even I was expecting to pay more for the bread). 
So, for $3.36 plus tax, I was able to make us several sandwiches and put the rest into our cooler. 
We bring the cooler with us every time with ice and cold drinks. I placed the deli meat inside to take home for later, and we still had some of that deli meat to use for other sandwiches at home later. 
I would not be able to get that much food at a fast food establishment for such a small amount of money.
So, even when it seems unconventional, be sure to use the grocery store for food especially for times like this in your effort to save money. 

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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