Second Frugal Friday of September 2026

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday

Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
I stopped in at CVS for a prescription and had my Covid booster and flu shot for the year. I also bought Manuka honey and foam bandages for the wound on my leg. 
Bailey and I went to the Mennonite Farm Stand in Englewood on Wednesday and picked up fresh produce. We also stopped at several thrift stores, so she could get some inventory for her online shops. The only thing I came home with were a couple of books. 
I filled up my gas tank this week at $3.89 per gallon. I thought it was headed towards $60, but finally stopped at close to $58, before stopping. I’ve never had to put that much money into my gas tank. 
I’ve been experiencing a lot of fatigue the last two weeks and went to the doctor for some blood work. She gave me a B12 injection since my B12 was low last time she checked and my iron is low too, like last summer when I was anemic. Iron supplements were discussed and I’m already feeling better from the injection.
Yard Sale Saturday
We didn’t yard sale last weekend because it’s very hot here and we decluttered the house for the consignment sale. We like to enjoy the house being decluttered for a while after it’s done. 

Saving Money in the Kitchen 

I decided to not post my Menu Plan Monday blog post on Monday and am going to include it in my Frugal Friday posts for the time being. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken

Tuesday ~ Margarita Shrimp

Wednesday ~ Chicken Tacos and Corn

Thursday ~ Chicken Enchiladas and Corn

I took the leftover chicken from Wednesday's dinner and made chicken enchiladas out of it for dinner on Thursday. No food waste here this week.

Friday & Saturday ~ Chicken Frito Salad

Saving on Things We Buy
We did our monthly grocery shopping last week and one of the places we went to was UGO. Imagine my surprise when I saw bags of Kraft mild cheddar cheese in the eight ounce bag for $1.00 each! I bought ten of them for my freezer. 
Another good deal this week was found at Food City where I found Earth Balance butter on close out for $2.75. This is my favorite butter and sells for $3.98 at Walmart, so this was another good deal for the week.
How was your week? I would love to hear about it in the comment section. 

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

First Frugal Friday of September 2026

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday

Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
Last Friday and Saturday we dropped off loads to the consignment sale in Chattanooga. We decluttered the whole house and were able to really clean out and get rid of things just in case we do end up moving at some point. 
Last week I received two separate rewards from my insurance company. One was a $10 Walmart card and the other was a $25 Walmart card. I like this program because it rewards me for keeping up with my doctor appointments and therefore  my health regularly, which is important to me in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. 
We did not yard sale last weekend as we were dropping off at the consignment sale. It's really hot here, so they are closing schools at noon, so students don't have to be on the non air-conditioned buses in the heat of the day. So, we may not yard sale this week either.
How was your week? Have you been to any good yard sales lately?

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 ~ Fifth & Final Week August 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money in my kitchen over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

On Friday I put a ten pound bag of chicken leg quarters in the crockpot. Once it was done cooking I separated the meat from the bones and ended up with a good amount of meat to use in meals this week. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Teriyaki Chicken, Green Beans with Onions, and Cabbage.

Tuesday ~ Grilled Chicken, Roasted Sweet Potato, Steamed Broccoli. 

Wednesday & Thursday ~ Cabbage Rolls, Steamed Broccoli. 

Fish on Friday ~ Chicken Nuggets, Cabbage and Broccoli. 

Saturday & Sunday ~ Chicken, Cabbage & Broccoli, and Corn on the Cob. 

As I mentioned, I put chicken leg quarters in the crock pot on Friday evening and let them cook overnight. Saturday morning I pulled all the bones out of it, and seasoned it well. This worked out perfectly as we were dropping off at consignment and came home to a hot ready meal. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit

Fourth & Final Friday Friday of August 2026

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday

On Tuesday, we said goodbye to a true Tennessee treasure, Dolly Parton. She never forgot where she came from and remained a kind and generous person who gave so much to others. My original title for this blog was inspired by her and this song she wrote called, My Tennessee Mountain Home. 

My Frugal Week
The weather has been cooler in the mornings here and also some evenings. It's a welcome sign of cooler weather coming this fall.
Last Friday I had an appointment at the vein clinic.. I had an ultrasound and Xray on my leg, which were both OK, and I had a referral to the wound clinic on Tuesday. The doctor there prescribed an antibiotic and put Manuka honey, known for its antibiotic properties, on the wound and bandaged it up for me. 
Earning Money/Bartering

Washer

This week I ended up doing some more bartering. The washing machine downstairs quit working a while ago and we’ve been wanting to replace it. 
My niece called on Thursday and wanted to know if we needed a washing machine and dryer. She has a a new top loader and wanted to get rid of the front loader as she prefers top loaders. 

Dryer

They owed me some money from tutoring this summer, so we traded the front loader washer and dryer for my tutoring. I love it when bartering actually works out. I've always wanted  front load washer and now I have one. Sometimes bartering works. :)
While they were here they removed the machine that fell on my leg, and put the risers I bought for the sleeper sofa in place. The couch was very low to the ground before and is much easy to sit on now. 
Freebies
This month’s issue of Southern Living magazine.
Saving on Things We Buy
One way I saved money this week is by switching my trash collector. I had been paying $50 a month for one service and $35 a month for a second service. Then I switched to bartering with the $50 service, which as you know did not work out. 
After hauling off my own garbage last week I decided to find someone else to do our garbage. Fortunately I found another company that provides a 96 gallon trash bin and only charges $20 per month. Score! 
Another way I save money is by using our local library to read the local weekly newspaper. The subscription is $52 per year, but it's honestly not worth the price for the content. But I will miss out on some important dates if I don't read it, so I go to the library and read it for free. 
I bought a box of non-clumping cat litter on mark down recently and think I prefer it over the clumping kind. It’s definitely cheaper than the clumping kind by a dollar or more, so we’re going to give it a try. 

I stopped in at Whole Foods one day and looked at the Crash & Burn section and found three spices, all on my grocery list, marked down to $1.87 each. The receipt they emailed me was for over $34, but that was without the clearance price. 
That is my week in a nutshell. How was your week? I'd love to hear about it in the comment section. 

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 ~ Fourth Week August 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money in my kitchen over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

The Old Country Kitchenware website has this recipe for Old Country Pan Coat. This magical mixture allows cakes to slip from their pan with ease. It's a one-step alternative to buttering and flouring your pans.

Old Country Pan Coat

I know I've posted a similar pan coat before, but I was watching a Lovina Zook video, a former member of the Swartzentruber Amish community in Iowa, where she mentions this recipe. I wanted to share it with you in case you're interested. 

One of my friends gave me a lot of produce last week including mushrooms, which are currently dehydrating for use later. I've also been dehydrating celery as she gave me found packages of celery and I will definitely use that. 

Photo of the Week

This is one lady's five gallon bean bucket. Whenever she gets beans from food pantries, food banks, church handouts, or friends, she adds them to this bucket. Then she uses them to make soup, chili, and spicy burrito beans, which makes for zero waste. I thought this was a great idea and wanted to share it with you. We love fifteen bean soup here and this would be very similar to that.

Saving Money YouTube Videos

The Back to Basics Kitchen YouTube channel, which has content on basic cooking, canning, bread making, and dehydrating foods, has a video entitled, Foods The USDA Says Will Increase In Price. I watched it the other day as I'm interested in knowing if certain foods we buy will be increasing in price. That way we can stock up before any price increases. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Grilled Chicken Strips, Carrots, Cucumbers.

Tuesday ~ Chicken Breast Filets, Cucumber Tomato Salad. 

Wednesday ~ Salmon Patties, Green Beans with Onions & Potatoes. 

Thursday ~ Spicy Salmon Sushi, Soup Beans, and Strawberries. 

Friday ~ Grilled Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Carrots & Green Beans.

There was a little bit of fresh vegetables, so I put all of them into my Instant Pot and cooked them all at the same time, which made more than enough as a side dish for dinner. 

Saturday ~ Chicken Nuggets, Soup Beans, and Strawberries.

Sunday ~ Meatloaf, Green Beans with Onions, and Watermelon. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

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

Image Credit