Frugal Friday ~ April 13th

In My Frugal Kitchen:

There was a 25¢ can of blueberry pie filling in my pantry from the Crash & Burn section at Food City, so I made a blueberry cobbler using this Betty Crocker recipe. It is definitely a keeper. 

This week I cleaned out the section of cabinets where I keep the majority of dishes that we use everyday. 

I had some lids that had fallen to the cabinet below and had to actually use a broom to reach into the back of the cabinet to get them out. 

I threw away several lids where the containers were long gone and I let go of about four items I no longer use. We will donate them to our local charity shop.

I made popcorn on the stovetop for a snack this week. Making your own popcorn will save you money over buying and making microwave popcorn. 

Stayed Home/Days Worked

This week I was able to stay home 5 days and worked 2 days. Everyday I am able to stay home saves me gas money and wear and tear on my car. 

Right now I am trying to buy as little gas as possible due to the rising gas prices. Every day I stay at home helps me save money towards that goal. 

Free Items:

Free items we received this week include a free t-shirt from a local shop. I entered and won a contest they had on their Facebook page a couple of weeks ago.

Grocery Shopping

In order to save money we cook many of our meals from scratch. And one of the ways we begin that process is to buy food in bulk.

Fresh & Low had ground chuck on sale this week for $2.35 a pound in the ten pound rolls. I would rather buy ground chuck at this sale price versus the regular price of $3.99 because that saves us money. 

My daughter went and picked up one of the ten pound rolls for meals this week and some to freeze for later. She also picked up milk and cheese.  

 
Yard Sale Saturday:
We picked up three clown costumes for $1.00 each, which I am going to upcycle the fabric for several sewing projects. 

They are very big and have enough fabric for several upcoming sewing projects.  
Other Frugal Activities
My daughter and I gave each other a haircut this week, which saved us about $26.00. 
I had two items that needed to be returned to Amazon, but the return time had passed, so I called them on the phone. 
The representative went ahead and refunded my money. $18.48 on one item and $9.96 on the second item. 
And she told me that since they were both from third party sellers to keep both items. One of the items was for Big Kitty, so I'm not sure what to do with that since he passed away. 
The other item I am going to give away to someone who does not have one. 
Returns are one of those things that are easy to procrastinate. I've had my fair share of items that I did not return. But, it really does pay to take the time and get this done. 
We scrubbed the back porch this week with enzyme cleaner and Ajax detergent. It looks so good it makes me wish I had done it sooner. 
On Wednesday I took the garbage off at no cost to us. I have tried to find someone to take over this responsibility but so far have still been unable to find anyone. 
I perused the grocery sale ads this week after picking up a free copy of the newspaper at school. 

What I Spent This Week:

Gasoline $30.00 (Used Plenti card)

3 Clown Suits $3.00

Fresh & Low $30.00

What did you do to save money this week? 

  Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~