Wealthy Nickle Contest Time ~ $250 Amazon Gift Card

Wealthy Nickel is a personal finance website with solid information on not only personal finance, but also on side hustles, entrepreneurship, real estate and more.
This holiday season they are giving away one $250 Amazon gift card to one of their readers.
The contest runs through December 18, 2020 if you're interested in entering you can click here to enter.
Best of luck to you!


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
We went out yesterday and did a porch pickup for free clothes for inventory.  The weather has been chilly here and I brought my electric throw blanket out of storage to keep warm one night. 
Quote of the Week

"Someday is not a day of the week." 

Denise Brennan-Nelson

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We had a Walmart grocery order delivered to our home this week. We noticed while shopping online that they have put limits back up on certain items. You can only order 6 bags of each type frozen vegetables, for example. 
I ordered some tahini from Amazon this week. I'm gong to make my own hummus this week and needed this since I was out.
Saving on Entertainment
For family movie night this week we watched Mr. Church,  which tells the story of a unique friendship that develops when a little girl and her dying mother retain the services of a talented cook. It is a role we hadn't expected out of Eddie Murphy, but were pleasantly surprised by the film. 
You can watch Mr. Church for free with ads on YouTube.  
What I've been Reading This Week
How Not To Die by Dr. Michael Gregor - I've been reading Dr. Gregor's books and watching his YouTube channel for several years now. His website offers multiple free videos and scientific information about the healthiest diet. 
Freebies

Om Mushrooms sent me the free items I won in their September giveaway. If you're interested in ordering from them, I have a coupon code you can use for 20% off if you use code BELINDARICHARDS. 
Thanksgiving is only a week away!⁣

BaileyAlexInc

⁣Ibotta is doing a Thanksgiving Meal rebate season this year. There are several items you can get for free including a turkey, dressing, Coke, etc. ⁣If you haven’t already signed up for ibotta, please consider using Bailey's referral code: nin67q You can even do Walmart Pickups as long as you connect your ibotta account. She did this as part of the Walmart pickup this week and you can see how much she got back. This app is great for saving a little here and there on groceries, and this Thanksgiving thing they are doing is such a blessing. 
Other Frugal Activities
The batteries in the remote control  to one of our air conditioners needed a new battery this week, so I ordered a new CR2025 battery on Amazon. I used part of my $15 gift card balance so I didn't have to pay anything for the package of five. 
I gave myself a hair cut with hair clippers this week. 
That's all I have to report from here this week. I've been busy helping Bailey with her business and haven't spent a lot of time online this week. 
How was your week?


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Would you like to support my site? 

 If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. 

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop. This means that any items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

So, if you're going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I would certainly appreciate it if you would help me by going through my Amazon link to support my site. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday!  We ventured out on Wednesday this week to pick up a batch of clothing for my daughter's business. Other than that we have stayed home and did not buy any groceries this week. Warm weather and humidity returned this week, so we have been running our air conditioner as needed. 
In My Frugal Kitchen
This week we did the usually thrifty things like meal planning, cooking at home, washing dishes by hand. 
I made a new to us recipe for Olive Garden's Crockpot Chicken Pasta. Bailey liked it and I liked it, but I wouldn't make it on a regular basis. I'm not a fan of dishes like Stroganoff, Alfredo, or Cream Cheese Spaghetti and this falls into that category for me. Your Mileage May Vary. :) 
One thing that I really liked about this recipe was the fact that it was a crockpot meal, which meant that I set it up to cook in the morning, which freed up my afternoon. I was able to make tea, garlic bread, a salad, and clean up the kitchen really well all while dinner was already cooking. I really liked that. 
On our last grocery order we bought a lot of fresh produce, so I have been keeping a good eye on it and using it everyday, so we do not have any waste from it. This produce came from Aldi and is so much tastier than what we have been getting from Walmart, so this was easy to do. I’ve made more salads this week since I already have the salad items prepped and ready to eat. 
Several gallons of sweet tea were made this week along with a chocolate cake for those who wanted something sweet.  I made white popcorn on the stovetop for a snack this week. This is less expensive than bags of potato chips or Doritos type chips, which we rarely buy due to the cost. 
Meals This Week
Grilled Chicken, Vegetable Stir FryMaid Rite Sandwiches, Carrots, Green Beans with OnionsTaco Rice, Green Beans with Onions, CarrotsChicken Pasta, Garlic Bread, SaladBaked Potato BarBaked Salmon, Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli
Saving on Entertainment
While we were driving to pick up inventory for Bailey's shop, we listened to an audio book in the car. This is Me: Loving The Person You Are Today written by Chrissy Metz who plays Kate Pearson on the tv show, This is Us. 
It's not often that I read or listen to a book that captures and holds my attention, but this one did. It's an  inspirational book about her life and the lessons she learned along the way. I would definitely recommend this one especially if you enjoy biographies. 
For movie night this week we watched The Hate U Give, which is based on the best selling novel of the same name. When a teenager witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood friend, she must find her voice and stand up for what’s right.
The book has been banned in Katy, Texas schools due to inappropriate language, and although it isn't based on a true story I could see this happening today. The protagonist struggles with keeping herself safe or taking a stand for her friend. I found it to be a very good movie that kept my attention the entire time. 
We payed Ramen Fury, Sorry, and Uno on game night this week. Ramen Fury is a fun board game where you prepare bowls of ramen filled with tasty ingredients, You collect combos of cards to score for different recipes while adding garnishes to boost your points. 
We really enjoy this fast paced game and it's fun for both children and adults. Bailey is very good when it comes to playing games. I tease her that I can see the wheels spinning in her mind to calculate her best moves. So, I have to be on top of my game or she will beat me every time. 
Other Frugal Things

Bailey cleaned out her sock drawer this week and found some new socks she wasn't wearing, so she listed them for sale on eBay and they sold the same day. 
Freebies
Vickie over at Vickie's Kitchen and Garden listed some really nice free coloring pages this week. You can find them here. 
This week I earned a free $5 Amazon gift card from the Hilton Honors program, and a $10 Amazon gift card from Microsoft Rewards. At this point I'm not sure if I'll use this for a Christmas present or for groceries. 
Fly Lady has a free holiday control journal on her website, which you can print out. Here is a link to the file if you want to read or print it.  
Other Stuff

Bailey put some clothes that were not worth selling into a box for the cats, so now they are taking turns or sharing the box to sleep. Here you can see Simba and Polka Dot sharing the box for one of their daily cat naps. 
How was your week?


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Would you like to support my site?  If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. 

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop. 

This means that any items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

So, if you're going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I would certainly appreciate it if you would help me by going through my Amazon link to support my site. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Self Care Sunday

Image Credit

This morning I woke up early, fed the cats and gave them plenty of loving. 
Afterwards I showered and washed my hair. 
Then I made some hot tea using Matcha, Reishi , and Turmeric tea bags. I cut up a cantaloupe and picked out some blueberries, made some whole grain toast and settled in for a nice healthy breakfast.  
How are you going to practice self care today?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Would you like to support my site? 

 If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. 

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop. 

This means that any items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

So, if you're going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I would certainly appreciate it if you would help me by going through my Amazon link to support my site. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday!  Winter weather made it here this week as we woke up to 30 degree temperature on Monday morning and 29 degrees on Tuesday. The air conditioner was definitely turned off for now. Indian Summer will be here before too long, but for now we will enjoy the silence of no air conditioners. 
In My Frugal Kitchen
I cut one of my new kitchen sponges in half this week. The sponges are big, so cutting them in half makes them easier for me to use, saves money, and I get more than one sponge out of the deal. If it's a sponge I rarely use or use for a small job, I cut them into thirds or fourths.  
I've been watching pantry stocking videos on YouTube this week and I have to wonder to myself if some people are going overboard for their family size. We eat what we store here and that has been our routine for many years. 
Other Frugal Things

This week I received another survey from Consumer Opinion and $5 for completing it. They send about four of them a year, but this year I received five for some reason, so $25.
We decided November will be a month of deep cleaning, so our home will be neat and tidy and clean for the holidays. Bailey has already started the process by shampooing the carpets with her new Bissell carpet shampooer.  She also used the Bissell carpet cleaner with Gain detergent. The carpet in the house not only looks good, but the whole house smells good as a result. This will pay for itself  over the years verses renting one or having them professionally cleaned. 
As I mentioned earlier this year our electric bill continues to go down due to having a new air conditioner installed an May. Our home is all electric, so no water, sewer or gas bills here. And now that we have a new washer and dryer I suspect it will go down even more. Here is the breakdown on our electric bill from last year and this year. 
10/15/2019 ~ $304.53
10/14/2020 ~ $191.19
Our bill reflected a savings of $113.34 over the bill for this same time last year. The reason for that is our old air conditioner was no longer energy  efficient the last few years, and installing a new energy saving model really helped bring the electric bill down. 
How was your week?   

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Would you like to support my site?

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways.

1. My PayPal Tip Jar

 

2. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop. This means that any items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

So, if you're going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I would certainly appreciate it if you would help me by going through my Amazon link to support my site. 

Don't Let the Critics Discourage You ~ George H.W. Bush

Presidential historian Michael Beschloss shared this letter from 1993. A classy gesture from outgoing president George H.W. Bush, who wrote this to Bill Clinton, the man who defeated him. 

Menu Plan Monday

Meal planning is an good tool for saving money, time, energy, and stress.

Here is what I'm planning for this week, sides to be determined later:

1. Macaroni and Cheese with Ham, Salad 
2. Big Mac Sloppy Joes
3. Vegetable Lasagna, Salad 
4. Chicken Parmesan
5. Chili 
6. Grilled Chicken Salads 
7. Grilled Salmon, Salad

As always these plans are held loosely. They could change based on my energy level that day or any other circumstance. But it is nice to have some type of plan for the week.

What is on your menu for the week?


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Saving Money on Christmas

This year more than ever I've been rethinking the money I spend at this time of year. I thought about the Christmas food. Back when I was growing up it was nothing for my Mom to spend $100 on a holiday meal and that can also be true today, but I know it could easily cost more than that. 
We normally have Italian Beef for Christmas Eve dinner, but this year I will be rethinking that and buy something on sale to make for the occasion. That will save me money by not having to buy any beef this year. 
I've thought and rethought some Christmas presents. I've also been sewing more homemade gifts this year instead of buying store bought. I refuse to go into debt to buy any Christmas presents this year. 
Last year one of the gifts my daughter asked for ended up being different from what she thought it was. As a result she wanted to get rid of it in the middle of the year, which surprised me. So, rethinking gifts is something I've thought about this year. 
Regarding buying presents for someone. I listen all year long for clues on items people would like to have. I've done this for many years even back when I was married. I bought my husband a Joe Walsh CD one year and he was so surprised when he opened it. Listening to the people you love is a very thoughtful way to let them know how much you care. 
Other things we will do this year include...
Spending less. I've already informed other family members that we will not be participating in gift exchanges this year. 
We will use Christmas decorations we already have on hand, including our tree. 
We will not be shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. 
We will be creative this year. When it comes to gift giving, consider giving something from the heart instead of from a store. Something handmade and thoughtful, such as breakfast in bed, washing someone's car, or washing the windows (I would love that!), knocking a chore off their “to do list,” or simply spending time together can be meaningful and less expensive.
Have you been rethinking Christmas this year?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~
Would you like to support my site?

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site via one of these ways. 

As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop. This means that any items you place in your cart and purchase within 24 hours after going to Amazon from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

So, if you're going to be making a purchase from Amazon this week, I would certainly appreciate it if you would help me by going through my Amazon link to support my site. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar