This week I was able to work three days and packed lunches and drinks all three days. I've had five no spend days this week, which helps me to meet some of my goals.
Cloth napkins are always included with my packed lunch from home. In fact this month marks one year that I've been paper towel free in our home. I've not bought any paper towels since April 2018.
At that time we switched to cloth only and it has saved me a lot of money. By my calculations I've saved close to $200 in the last year by not buying paper towels.
Last week eBay had a $3.00 off coupon available, so I checked my Amazon wishlist to see if a book I'd been wanting was available on eBay.
I found this Thrifty cookbook for $3.99 with free shipping, so I ended up paying 99¢ for a book I'd been wanting, and I used a $1.00 eBay card I earned from the Checkpoints app.
Tuesday evening Bailey and I had a movie night. We made pizza at home and watched the Ruth Bader Ginsburg film, "On The Basis of Sex".
We thought it was a good film, which tells the story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg brought a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals to overturn a century of gender discrimination.
Here is a trailer of the film if you're interested:
This week I was able to pick up some free toilet paper. It was several rolls that were taken off early to put on a new roll. The custodial staff sets them aside rather than throw them away, so I picked up a few to take home with me.
My daughter had her oil changed this week and only paid $20 for the supplies. Her uncle uses synthetic oil at his shop, which is what her car requires.
This week I made a call to Verizon, my cell phone carrier to see if I could get a block on International calls. I've been getting robocalls from France and the Congo and want them to stop.
Last month I accidently hit the redial button on one of them and was charged $6.00 for my mistake. It was my fault, so I paid the fee, but when I was speaking the the Verizon representative he decided to reverse the charge, so now I have a $6.00 credit on my account.
It pays to ask sometimes if a company will waive a fee for you. You never know if you will save yourself some money if you don't ask. Even though I didn't ask in this case, I have asked in the past and had a fee or two reversed before.
If you're interested in stories from the Great Depression you can look on YouTube for several good films about this topic.
One film I watched this week is from the U.S. National Archives, which I really enjoyed. It gives you information about a time when the economy was really bad and can give you ideas on ways to cope if that were to happen again today.
The comment section is good to read as well because people are thinking this kind of collapse could happen again.
I've been reading about food prices increasing due to all the rain and flooding we've had this year.
On Thursday we picked up some groceries from Walmart. Ingredients we picked up include salt, bread, and American cheese. We also picked up a bottle of chili powder on mark down.
We received a check from a class action lawsuit this week for Premiere Protein Shakes, which we bought in 2016. The check was for $17 and some change and was included in a payment I made this week.
That's all the news from here this week. How was your week? Any frugal wins for you? We'd love to read about it in the comment section.
I am going to check out those Great Depression films on youtube. Did you know there is a youtube channel called great depression cooking? A grandson made many videos of his 90+ year old grandmother who lived thru the depression as a teenager. She cooks food that her family ate during that time and tells many stories of her life at that time. Very interesting videos. She was a sweet woman. She has since died but her videos are still there to enjoy. Her name was Clara Cannucciari.
Yes, I knew about the Great Depression Cooking series from Clara, Mary. They are very good videos too and I think my readers would enjoy those too. I love reading and learning about skills used during the Great Depression. We can learn so much from others this way. Thank you for sharing. :)
Good for getting the phone charge removed without even asking. I resent invasive calls and now if I don't know who is calling my phone goes unanswered. I would love to quit buying paper towels or at least buy less of them but TheHub has a love affair with them.
I know what you mean, Anne. I loved paper towels too and now my daughter loves them. She doesn't like that I quit buying them, so she buys a roll every now and then, but not me. LOL
I resent those calls too and will try anything to make them stop.
We did our standard stuff (eating leftovers, making sure the fridge is clear before we make/prep/buy new food, line drying clothes whenever possible, etc), & I used an offer for a two night free hotel stay for a trip to Las Vegas with my mom.
Oh, that sounds like fun! I hope you had a great time in Las Vegas. Good for you for doing all those frugal things. We do the clean out the fridge first before making new food too. Whatever it takes to save money.
Sounds like a pretty good week. I have never had a problem with charges like that being removed. It has happened on a credit card as well - and they always take care of it (new card needed though). I have been home most of the week - vehicle in shop. UGH! But that's ok - no car payment means I can afford a fix now and then. Have a great weekend.
THank you, Cheryl. I hope you have a great weekend too. I agree with you on the no car payment means you can get it fixed every now and then. Love not having a car payment!
Hi Belinda, I will have to check out that cookbook, looks interesting! I've done a couple of things to prepare for possible rising food costs. I always buy the box of 60ct eggs, so I bought two extra and a couple of ice cube trays, blended then up in my blender and then put the Frozen cones in ziplock bags for later. Also got a couple bags of flour and oats to put in the freezer too. Great job on the fee reversal. I always ask. Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Nichole. That's great lanning on your part with the eggs. It's great to stock up on the oats and flour too. I am stocked up on oats right now too. I need to be stocked up on eggs as we go thru a lot of those. I hope you have a great weekend too. :)
My husband is our chief utility and phone negotiator. He too will always ask. We've saved many fees and received lower rates with a simple ask.
ReplyDeleteIt definitely pays to ask, Sam. :)
DeleteI am going to check out those Great Depression films on youtube. Did you know there is a youtube channel called great depression cooking?
ReplyDeleteA grandson made many videos of his 90+ year old grandmother who lived thru the depression as a teenager. She cooks food that her family ate during that time and tells many stories of her life at that time. Very interesting videos. She was a sweet woman. She has since died but her videos are still there to enjoy. Her name was Clara Cannucciari.
Yes, I knew about the Great Depression Cooking series from Clara, Mary. They are very good videos too and I think my readers would enjoy those too. I love reading and learning about skills used during the Great Depression. We can learn so much from others this way. Thank you for sharing. :)
DeleteGood for getting the phone charge removed without even asking. I resent invasive calls and now if I don't know who is calling my phone goes unanswered.
ReplyDeleteI would love to quit buying paper towels or at least buy less of them but TheHub has a love affair with them.
I know what you mean, Anne. I loved paper towels too and now my daughter loves them. She doesn't like that I quit buying them, so she buys a roll every now and then, but not me. LOL
DeleteI resent those calls too and will try anything to make them stop.
We did our standard stuff (eating leftovers, making sure the fridge is clear before we make/prep/buy new food, line drying clothes whenever possible, etc), & I used an offer for a two night free hotel stay for a trip to Las Vegas with my mom.
ReplyDeleteOh, that sounds like fun! I hope you had a great time in Las Vegas. Good for you for doing all those frugal things. We do the clean out the fridge first before making new food too. Whatever it takes to save money.
DeleteSounds like a pretty good week. I have never had a problem with charges like that being removed. It has happened on a credit card as well - and they always take care of it (new card needed though).
ReplyDeleteI have been home most of the week - vehicle in shop. UGH! But that's ok - no car payment means I can afford a fix now and then.
Have a great weekend.
THank you, Cheryl. I hope you have a great weekend too. I agree with you on the no car payment means you can get it fixed every now and then. Love not having a car payment!
DeleteHi Belinda,
ReplyDeleteI will have to check out that cookbook, looks interesting! I've done a couple of things to prepare for possible rising food costs. I always buy the box of 60ct eggs, so I bought two extra and a couple of ice cube trays, blended then up in my blender and then put the Frozen cones in ziplock bags for later. Also got a couple bags of flour and oats to put in the freezer too.
Great job on the fee reversal. I always ask.
Have a great weekend!
Thank you, Nichole. That's great lanning on your part with the eggs. It's great to stock up on the oats and flour too. I am stocked up on oats right now too. I need to be stocked up on eggs as we go thru a lot of those. I hope you have a great weekend too. :)
DeleteI've been wanting to watch On the Basis of Sex for a while now. I placed a hold at the library and I'm 211th in the line!
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you don't use paper napkins. I try using less, but I'm not 100% successful yet. I need to keep more cloth napkins.
Have a great weekend Belinda.
Oh wow, Nil. It might be a while before you can see the film. Hopefully the time will pass quickly. I hope you have a great weekend too.
DeleteThank you for posting the Great Depression video, I really enjoyed it!♥️
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Susan. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I did too.
Delete