Frugal Friday ~ December 6, 2019

“There is no dignity

quite so impressive,

and no independence

quite so important,

as living within your means.”

 ~ Calvin Coolidge

This week I worked four days and had Tuesday off. I used the day off to clean out a closet and work on Christmas presents such as hand warmers, key chains and felt food. 

Last Friday we spent the day with family before they went back to Florida. They treated us out to lunch at a local restaurant where I ordered my favorite, which is their patty melt. 
This week we snagged a free year of Disney as a reward from Verizon wireless. So far I've been catching up on some of my favorite Christmas movies. 

My daughter found a cat food deal from chewy.com this week. She was able to order four giant bags of cat food for only $18.00 total. Pictured above is our cat Scrappy with the boxes. 

Verizon sent us a $20 Amazon gift card this week for our one year anniversary with them.

I earned a $15 gift card to Amazon from Swagbucks this week. I used it as part of a payment towards a Christmas present. I also clipped a coupon on the Amazon website and received $23 off the product I ordered.

The Joy of Cooking cookbook that I won recently came in the mail this week.

Bojangles sent me a coupon via email for a free cinnamon biscuit for December from their Barnyard Calendar. If you live near a Bojangles and want to sign up for their Barnyard Calendar, click here. 

Each month they will send you that month's calendar to print along with a coupon that is good for the entire month. Best of all, it's free to join.

One day this week I cut up this shirt to reuse the fabric on something else. It's a beautiful fall print fabric. I also saved the ten pearl buttons that came with the shirt. 

I also repaired the hem on a dress for my daughter, replaced a broken snap on one of her cloth pads, and repaired another cloth pad that is simply worn out. She loves it though and is unwilling to part with it, so Mom to the rescue. 

Her and I finished posting two lists of clothing items for sale to both eBay and Mercari. As a result her sales have gone up and she was able to cancel a $50 monthly fee for maintaining the lists. We put our noses to the grindstone to get them done, and  the payoff was worth it in the end. 

We cooked every meal from home this week as usual. All lunches and drinks consumed this week were also brought from home. 

We've had to have the heat on at home several times this week. We keep the heater on 60, so I know when it clicks on that it's pretty cold in the house. Any lower than that and it's too cold for me. 


My Dad has moved back to Tennessee for the winter. The land he is living on right now does not have a driveway and he needs to build one. He asked me if I knew someone who could help him and I mentioned the person who does our garbage for us as he did a lot of yard work for us this year. 
He and my Dad worked out a great bartering deal. Timmy is going to help Dad build the driveway at $15 per hour, but instead of cash Dad is going to have Timmy work towards a truck and 5th wheel camper my Dad was going to sell. 
It's a win-win situation as Dad gets the driveway he needs and Timmy gets a truck and camper that he wants. 
This week I needed to order a clothing item online, and ended up getting free shipping and 50% off my order, which was a $32 savings. 
How was your week?Any frugal wins you'd like to tell us about in the comment section? We would love to hear about them. 

Belinda

~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree
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Frugal Friday ~ November 15, 2019

Welcome to Friday, I hope you've had a great week. 

My daughter and I were out of town last weekend to attend the wedding of a friend. We stayed overnight two nights and used the trip to scour the thrift stores in Atlanta. We found several things we needed and a couple of things we wanted. 

We did eat out a couple of times while we were there. One day we came through Atlanta and saw the Secret Service while President Trump was in town. That night we ate at the Folk Art restaurant, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so that was really fun and the food was great. 

This week I was back to work at school and worked three days, although the weather threatened two of those days. We did end up with a two hour delay one morning. 

This week I did some mending by reattaching two buttons that were safety pinned onto a blazer we picked up at the thrift store. I also sewed up one hole in a pillow created by one of the dogs we pet sit. Also, I've been working on and sewing some presents for Christmas. 

We've put off shopping for groceries and are using up what we have in our pantry and freezer. One day I even mixed up some powdered milk to have rather than go to the store for some. It always surprises me what meals we can come up with by using what we have on hand. 

I've been making an inventory of what food we do have on hand. It helps me to create meals when I can look at a list of the food available. This week in anticipation of grocery shopping, I perused the grocery store sale ads online. 

Cold weather arrived here this week and even though we dressed warmly and were covered up with blankets, we finally had to turn the heat on due to the cold weather. One morning it was 17 degrees outside, so definitely heater weather. That morning we had to salt the steps leading up to the house because they were icy. 

My plans for the weekend include laundry, grocery shopping, and sewing. I also have some computer work to do for my dd's business. 

Next week is our last week of school and then we have a week off for Thanksgiving. This year we will be going to my BIL's house, which we didn't think was going to happen as he had a house fire in October. They are living in a rented house for now and he wants us to come celebrate with them. Naturally I'll be bringing several dishes with us to share. 

I hope you have a great weekend! 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree
Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living from Frugal Workshop.

Mother's Day ~ May 13, 2018

Image Credit

Mother's Day is coming up this Sunday, May 13th, so I thought it would be appropriate to discuss this holiday. 
There are a myriad of ways to celebrate the day dedicated to Moms without breaking the bank. 
My Mom is always happy with clothes, although most of what I've read says not to buy clothes. I guess it depends on your Mom as my Mom is even happy with second hand clothes as long as it's something she needs. 
If you're short on cash this year there are stills ways to celebrate your Mom by thinking outside the gift box. 
Items such as...
- Picnic lunch at her favorite spot - Make breakfast, lunch, or dinner to give her the day off from cooking.  - Make her favorite dessert - Wildflowers or Flowers from your own garden - Do Mom's chores for her - Make Mom a homemade card - Make Mom a scrapbook - A framed photo you know she will love - Wash and detail her car - Call her and have a long conversation - Give her a manicure or pedicure yourself - Mow her lawn (I would love this!) - Watch a movie with her
Here are some good articles regarding spending on Mother's Day: 
The Motley Fool: Will Mother's Day Bust Your Budget This Year?
Mother's Day Deals and Discounts
2018 Mother's Day Freebies, Discounts, & Promotions
Whatever your budget allows for this year I hope you enjoy Mother's Day with your Mom or you enjoy celebrating with your own children. (Kitties and puppies included).
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Activities for the week of February 12, 2018

This week I was able to work three days. Next week is Winter Break, so I have the first three days of the week free. 
We've had A LOT of rain here this week, which has made a mess of our driveway. I'm hoping for some sunshine next week to dry up all the mess.
With all the rain came the humidity, which made the temperature warm for this time of year. At school students asked me to turn on the air conditioner one day because it was really warm in their classroom.  
At home I opened the windows and turned the fan on to cool down the house, which helped.  We want to save money here and do not want to have to turn on the a/c in February. 
We've had homemade meals everyday this week. One night I made some brown rice, added some beans I cooked earlier in the week, and then added a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. 

Photo Credit

This was a idea I gleaned from Jeff Novick who is a registered dietician. It was delicious and low in sodium, plant based and cost under $3.00 to make. 
Friday evening we went to the thrift store and I picked up Dean Ornish's book, Eat More, Weigh Less for $1.00 to read the recipes and possibly add them to our plant based menus. 
I had plenty of time for reading this week (I had no students on one of the days I subbed) and managed to read two books for some free entertainment. 
My daughter needed three of her cloth pads repaired this week, so I brought out the sewing machine and quickly repaired those. Taking care of simple repairs will make the pads last longer. 
The wrestling team at the high school did so well this year that they went to the state championship in Nashville yesterday. We were able to watch the matches online at school. It was very exciting to watch. 
I did not spend any money for Valentine's Day as it was just a regular day here. 
What have you done to save money this week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~