One of the ways we've saved money here this week is by turning off our air conditioner at night to save on the electric bill. It's been cooler here than what is normal for this time of year, so that will help save on our electric bill next month.
Another way I saved money this week was to use residual heat to finish any cooking I do on the stovetop, such as making popcorn one night.
My neighbor set his free produce basket out again this year, so we picked out three cucumbers.
We traded board games at McKays Used Books this week. We paid $4.50 for nine board games at yard sales last week and earned $43.00 in trade credit.
We picked out two TV shows on DVD and several books with the credit. We do not have streaming services here (which also saves us money), but are able to still pick up DVDs on the cheap here.
We found Princess and the Frog last weekend at a yard sale for $2.00. It had been on our wish list for about six months.
We stopped at Food City on Wednesday to pick up some red bell peppers, which were on sale. I also picked up five bags of 15 bean soup beans.
We also stopped at Cooke's on Wednesday as they had their bags of coleslaw for 99¢. I picked up five of those and also the last two bags of Cajun 15 bean dry soup beans.
I made baked vegetable eggrolls with some of the coleslaw. They are easy to make. You take one package of the coleslaw mix and microwave it for four minutes.
Meantime in a separate bowl you add one tablespoon cornstarch, two tablespoons soy sauce, one teaspoon sesame oil, one teaspoon ginger, one teaspoon garlic, one teaspoon salt, and mix together.
Mix with the cabbage and place a spoonful an egg roll wrappers and roll up. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
My daughter picked up a scrub shirt jacket last week at a yard sale, so I cut it into useable fabric pieces. I was able to make two pads with it for her.
This week I was able to make four cloth pads for her, which has resulted in doing less laundry.
I've made her a total of 19 pads now and she isn't having to wash them everyday like she did when her stash was smaller.
She went three days without doing any laundry this week, so that will be an additional savings on our electric bill next month. :)
Another way we've been saving money this summer is by not buying any meat. The last month I bought meat was in March and our grocery bill for that month was right at $300.
I've not bought any meat since then and our grocery bill has dropped over $50 each month. I do have some canned salmon on hand if anyone wants meat, but we've been eating a plant based diet all summer and have even dropped a few pounds.
We went to the yearly SDA church rummage sale on Wednesday. We only found a couple of things this year, nothing to write home about. Same with the 40% off sale at the Habitat Restore sale this week. We didn't buy anything there and yard sales were rained out on Friday.
On Saturday we headed out to our local Goodwill stores for their first Saturday of the month 50% off sale.
It sounds like a very frugal week, Belinda. Well done! Thank you for sharing how you make your egg rolls. I'll give those a try, soon. Enjoy your weekend!
Belinda, those sound yummy! Have you ever made extra and frozen them (cooked? raw?). I sometimes "splurge" on a fzn box of these from Aldi's as they are cheaper than at a take out. I often make my own stir fry, so an egg roll would fit in nicely, and on a reduced budget. : ) I don't use packaged coleslaw mix, how many cups of shredded cabbage does it contain? I always have cabbage and carrots on hand and can do that myself. Are there any other vegetables included in a coleslaw package? Thanks in advance. Carol in CT
I've never frozen the eggrolls, Carol, but that is a good idea. I will have to try that as I have extras leftover. The coleslaw mix is a 14 ounce bag, so about 2 to 3 cups of cabbage I would say. Just some shredded carrots are included. Here is a link to the photo of the bag I used: http://www.dole.com/en/products/classic-coleslaw
I have been turning off my air too at night when it is not so humid. I have also decided to pay an extra $25.00 a week on the utility bill through the Summer since it is the priciest time for my home to run utilities. Next year DH & I are installing an attic fan and getting rid of our central air for room air conditioners. This is the most frugal option we researched for our needs. Our central air unit has got to be at least twenty-five years old so you can imagine what the utility bill looks like. Least my DH insulated our home like it was a stuffed bear and that saves us a lot of money.
That is the coolest thing I have ever heard that you can trade board games at your used book store. I am really envious. :)
I get DVD's at the library. Our library is notorious for getting items stolen. They just got the last copy of Supernatural Season 10 stolen. I was next in queue. I am really grumpy with them right now, lol. I am going to have to figure out a way to stream it legally to finish up my episodes.
Oh yes, the older the appliances the more they run up your electric bill, Aiyana. Sounds like your dh did a good job with the insulation, that definitely helps to save money.
We love our used book store. It is just the best place. A few years ago when dd needed one of the expensive calculators for her math class in high school we traded for one at McKays and never had to pay any money for it. It's been a real help to us financially. I posted about it here, if you would like to read it:
Oh, that is so sad about the Supernatural getting stolen at your library. Our library had to install a theft device to stop the stealing. Now if someone tries that a huge alarm goes off. I've actually been sitting there when someone tries to take something.
We haven't had high temperatures, but the humidity has been killer.
It seems like when I was a child and the garden was producing at its peak....we ate more veggie based meals. I know tonight we are having fresh string beans with potatoes, fresh corn, and I honestly haven't planned beyond that.
It sounds like a very frugal week, Belinda. Well done! Thank you for sharing how you make your egg rolls. I'll give those a try, soon. Enjoy your weekend!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Lili. The eggrolls are really good and healthy. I hope you have a great weekend too. :)
DeleteBelinda, those sound yummy! Have you ever made extra and frozen them (cooked? raw?). I sometimes "splurge" on a fzn box of these from Aldi's as they are cheaper than at a take out. I often make my own stir fry, so an egg roll would fit in nicely, and on a reduced budget. : ) I don't use packaged coleslaw mix, how many cups of shredded cabbage does it contain? I always have cabbage and carrots on hand and can do that myself. Are there any other vegetables included in a coleslaw package? Thanks in advance.
DeleteCarol in CT
I've never frozen the eggrolls, Carol, but that is a good idea. I will have to try that as I have extras leftover. The coleslaw mix is a 14 ounce bag, so about 2 to 3 cups of cabbage I would say. Just some shredded carrots are included. Here is a link to the photo of the bag I used: http://www.dole.com/en/products/classic-coleslaw
DeleteShredded cabbage does make the best and easiest egg rolls.
ReplyDeleteit sounds like you are stocking up a bit with the bean purchases! good going.
we find that we tend to eat a lot more veggies in the summer. meat is just a side dish.
It sounds like you had a great week.
Thank you, Cheryl. We do eat a lot of beans around here, and we love to have a vegetable plate for dinner too. :)
DeleteI have been turning off my air too at night when it is not so humid. I have also decided to pay an extra $25.00 a week on the utility bill through the Summer since it is the priciest time for my home to run utilities. Next year DH & I are installing an attic fan and getting rid of our central air for room air conditioners. This is the most frugal option we researched for our needs. Our central air unit has got to be at least twenty-five years old so you can imagine what the utility bill looks like. Least my DH insulated our home like it was a stuffed bear and that saves us a lot of money.
ReplyDeleteThat is the coolest thing I have ever heard that you can trade board games at your used book store. I am really envious. :)
I get DVD's at the library. Our library is notorious for getting items stolen. They just got the last copy of Supernatural Season 10 stolen. I was next in queue. I am really grumpy with them right now, lol. I am going to have to figure out a way to stream it legally to finish up my episodes.
Oh yes, the older the appliances the more they run up your electric bill, Aiyana. Sounds like your dh did a good job with the insulation, that definitely helps to save money.
DeleteWe love our used book store. It is just the best place. A few years ago when dd needed one of the expensive calculators for her math class in high school we traded for one at McKays and never had to pay any money for it. It's been a real help to us financially. I posted about it here, if you would like to read it:
http://savingmoneyinmytennesseemountainhome.blogspot.com/2013/03/mckay-used-books.html
Oh, that is so sad about the Supernatural getting stolen at your library. Our library had to install a theft device to stop the stealing. Now if someone tries that a huge alarm goes off. I've actually been sitting there when someone tries to take something.
We haven't had high temperatures, but the humidity has been killer.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like when I was a child and the garden was producing at its peak....we ate more veggie based meals. I know tonight we are having fresh string beans with potatoes, fresh corn, and I honestly haven't planned beyond that.
Your dinner sounds so good. And I agree with you on the humidity, it has been humid here as well.
Delete