My daughter and I went to several yard sales on Saturday. We even went to two neighborhood yard sales, which are a lot of fun since you can park and go to multiple sales at a time. 

Pictured above is a set of eight forks and a pretty yellow plate. These were included in a box marked, "make an offer". So, I bought the eight forks, plate, two batter bowls, and two juice cups for $1.00. I was all ready to haggle with her, but she accepted my offer! I was surprised, but tickled. 

I don't know why, but our forks seem to just disappear. I have bought replacements many times at yard sales and thrift stores over the years too. 

Here are some of the other items we bought. 

Cloth Napkins for 25¢ each.

Hand Stitched Twin Quilt for $2.00. 

Thirty One Bag for $2.00. These retail for over $30.

One extra large coffee cup for 25¢, which I always use for soup bowls.  

Two really cute glass candle holders with wire rings to hand outside. I love these and they were only $1.00. 

We actually bought more than this such as the Vera Bradley bag my daughter for $5.00. These were the highlights though. 

My Mom needed me to take her to the doctor this week and she also wanted to do a little grocery shopping at Walmart. I'm hardly ever in there anymore, but I did find some fresh baked bread for 50¢ per loaf. I bought four loves and put three of them into the freezer when I got home.  

The other one went into the refrigerator since fresh baked bread will mold quickly here if left out on the counter. I made sandwiches for our lunch from it on Wednesday. I also bought sour cream, cottage cheese, chips for lunches, Life cereal. If you are not couponing then Walmart's prices can be lower when compared to stores that double coupons. It just depends, as always do your math. :)

These days when I have a day off from work, I do not even have to leave the house to take my daughter to school since she drives herself now. This has turned out to be a money saver for me. I used to stop at the grocery store on my way home from dropping her off. Now I just stay home, which as it turns out saves me some money. I love finding the good things in all of these changes in our lives we've been going through. 

Dinner tonight is going to be Vegetable Soup & Cornbread. 

What's for dinner in your home?

Thank you for reading,

Belinda ~ Living within my means in Southern Tennessee ~
Earn with Swagbucks

Saturday at the Frugal Workshop

I'm so glad today is Saturday as I've worked all week and I'm looking forward to staying home today. My daughter has library volunteer duties, but she will be able to drive herself for the first time in four years.  :)

Update on the auto insurance: We did have to get my daughter a policy of her own since the car is in her name. It worked out to about $129 per month, so not too bad for a teenage driver. 

I have to brag on her for a minute. She decided to go to a couple of yard sales while I was working yesterday, so she packed her own lunch and drinks to take along with her, so she wouldn't spend any money on those things. 

Also, she is going to her prom at the end of the month and she decided, on her own, to use the dress she wore last year. She has also decided to use it for her graduation in May, so I will not be out any money for these items. I am definitely counting my blessings there as she is not materialistic. 

She knows the trouble that credit cards can cause when they are not used responsibly and she also knows about creating multiple income streams. She has had a wonderful example of this from one of her teachers. It is my hope and prayer that she continues to be financially savvy in the years to come because as we all know it will do her well. 

Today dinner will be Cheese Enchiladas, using my Homemade Enchilada Sauce,  Mexican Rice, and Pinto Beans all made from scratch. 

I hope you all have a great weekend. 

Thank you for reading,
Belinda ~ Living within my means in Southern Tennessee ~
Earn with Swagbucks

Updates from the Frugal Workshop

This is a photo my daughter took on her Spring Break. They had just gotten off the ship in Nassau. Her grandmother took her on a Carnival cruise to the Bahamas as an early graduation present. 

My Spring Break was a little disappointing because I came down with a stomach virus, which lasted about five days, which explains my absence from my blog. 

Anyway, my daughter got her drivers license this week and we have been car shopping everyday after school. She finally settled on this one:

It is a Ford Fiesta that gets 40 miles to the gallon, which will help a great deal as she starts college this fall. I'm very happy to report that we were able to pay cash in full for the car, so she will have no car payments.


Yesterday we spent the day decluttering around the house and took off a carload of garbage to the dump and donated items to our local charity shop. Afterwards we cleaned the house, including laundry, and getting ready for the work/school week. Other than that we spent the whole day at home, which felt great after car shopping all week. 

One thing I noticed when car shopping was the fact that many cars had almost 100,000 miles on them, which to me was a sure sign of the economic times. People are holding onto their cars much longer than they used to hold onto them. I know I held onto my last car for 15 years and it had over 200,000 miles on it when I replaced it with a newer one for work. I still have the old car, which I use to haul off garbage. 

This week I will be adding another car to my auto insurance policy or getting a policy for my daughter all her own. I will do a price comparison in the office to see which one will save us the most money. I've already seen an increase in price of $200 when I added her last week after she received her driver's license. Any advice from those who have been through this already will be very welcome. 

Thank you for reading,


Belinda ~ Living within my means in Southern Tennessee ~
Earn with Swagbucks