Frugal Frugal ~ October 29, 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week

Last Thursday evening we had a bad storm come through our area. During the storm we heard a loud noise and the whole house shook. Turns out a tree fell in the storm and landed on our front deck and stairs. We’ve asked our handyman Timmy to take care of it and he will when he has some extra time. 

Last Friday we were up early to go to a church yard sale where I was able to pick up some fabric, cloth napkin, dish towels, apron, and Minnie Mouse potholder. They didn't have any prices on items, but were accepting donations for a missionary instead, so we filled up a box of items and gave them a nice contribution.

Also pictured are three reusable cloth sandwich bags, which we picked up on Saturday for 50 cents, two Rubbermaid bowls and one pitcher, and a hand held shaker cup.   
One of the items was an Angry Mama Microwave Cleaner which you fill with vinegar and water and then run in the microwave for 7 minutes. Honestly, you can do the same thing with a glass bowl, so no need to go and buy one. 

On the cleaning front we took down the bathroom curtains this week and washed them. I steamed them before Bailey put them back up and they look so much better. 
I’ve been deep cleaning lately since I can see the dirt so much better now. The nurse at the eye doctors office said more people say they can see the dirt so much better after eye surgery than anything else.
I cleaned out my closet this week to get some sewing projects out of there, so I can work on them this week. The fabric I bought at the church yard sale would make a good large casserole potholder for Thanksgiving. 
On Wednesday I had a doctors appointment and left early to get some errands done. I took my car in for an oil change and one of my headlights was out, so they replaced that for me and aired up one of my tires that needed it since the cold weather started. 
Earning Money
I listed one item for sale on eBay this week. 
I cashed in my Checkpoints for $3.00 in Amazon gift cards this week. It's been hard to do this app since we haven't been driving during the pandemic as much as we used too, so it was good to be able to use this again. 
Avoiding Spending
I couldn't avoid spending money as I had the oil changed in my car and a headlight replaced.
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We’ve been doing the usual things, keeping a check on the leftovers. Checking the fridge every day before making new food. I soaked a two pound bag of pinto beans this week and made homemade chili with that. This chili will last us several days of different meals, which makes this such an affordable option. 
Meals This Week
Friday: The last of the Taco stuff. It was good while it lasted. 
Saturday: Pork Chops, Fried Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions 
Sunday:  I had chicken in the refrigerator to thaw and I was going to make BBQ with it, but Bailey requested Sticky Pineapple Chicken again. I served this with rice and corn on the cob. 
Monday: For breakfast I heated up the last of the rice and added some cheese for protein. It tasted great and is such an affordable meal. Many people the world over eat rice as a staple in their diets. It is an inexpensive way to fill your family up without it costing a lot of money. 
We also had chicken left from Sunday dinner, so I served that for dinner with corn on the cob and baked potatoes.  
Tuesday: We ate lemon pepper tuna sandwiches for lunch and then made pizzas for dinner for movie night. 
Wednesday: Hamburgers, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions
Thursday: Homemade Chili
Friday: Chili Tacos
Recipe of the Week
Cheddar Muffins
This is a good recipe to use up any leftover mashed potatoes you may have on hand. 
Ingredients:
2 cups mashed potatoes1 egg1/3 cup vegetable oil1 cup shredded cheddar cheese1 & 2/3 cups flour3 Tablespoons sugar2 Tablespoons diced chives1 Tablespoon dried parsley1 Tablespoon baking powder1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Combine beaten egg, cheese, vegetable oil and mashed potatoes.Combine remaining ingredients & stir in potato mixture just until moistened.Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.Bake at 400° for 20 - 25 minutes.

Saving on Entertainment
We cut cable TV back in 1998 and have never looked back. There is nothing wrong with having cable TV if you can afford it, but most Americans live paycheck to paycheck, have very little retirement savings, student loan debt, credit card, and other consumer debt. Entertainment is something that you can do for almost free, so if you are looking to save money there are plenty of resources to entertain yourself without spending too much. 
What I've been Reading This Week
60 Comforting Fall Meals to Make from Southern Living
Freebies

- Another birthday freebie this week was this half gallon container of ice cream from Publix. I just can't get over them offering a big container of ice cream to people on their birthdays. 
- From Stedi.org, which is a substitute teaching resource, here is a Harvest Activities Book. It's 23 pages of fun activities for children.
- A base was stolen in the World Series, which means you get a free Doritos Locos Taco from Taco Bell on Thursday, November 4 all day, in-store, online, or in the app. 

That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.

Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 

 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Supply Chains & Christmas ~ Something to Ponder

As you probably have also, I’ve been reading in the news lately about it being hard to shop for Christmas this year due to supply issues. I’ve thought about this and decided this isn’t necessarily going to be a bad thing. 
As far as decorating goes, We have plenty of decorations from years past to decorate with this year. And I suspect a lot of other people are in the same boat, and have plenty to decorate their homes with this year without buying anything new. 
Also, while we may not have all the traditional foods we normally have, we will most likely have food to eat and that is more important than doing without a traditional food for one Christmas. Some people may go hungry on Christmas and that is a sad fact, so I will be grateful for what we do have on our table this holiday season.
Another truth of the matter is that many of us do not NEED anything new, so not being able to buy presents for each other this year really wouldn’t be such a bad thing. It’s just the thought of not doing or having what we are used too, but we can make new traditions that mean just as much as our old traditions. 
I’ve always loved the tradition of giving each child three gifts to represent the three gifts the wise men brought to the baby Jesus. 
My Grandmother used to make up games for us to play that were so much fun. One year she hid my Grandfathers gift and the first person to find it won a small gift. 
We can look for ideas to make the holidays fun while keeping them frugal in order to fit our budgets.  With a little bit of effort we could make this a Christmas to remember. 
I’m just not going to worry about what we’ll have or not have for this one Christmas season. I can make Bailey some homemade things that she will love with things I already have on hand. And that way I won’t be adding any stress or worry for myself about supply chain issues that I have no control over anyway. 
How about you? Are you rethinking ways to do Christmas this year?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday ~ October 22, 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Saturday we had a Walmart grocery order delivered to our home. Afterwards I cooked up the ground beef for tacos and nachos for the weekend. I cut up the onions, tomatoes, lettuce, and shredded the cheese. I also made a seven layer taco dip and baked a chocolate cake for Bailey’s birthday. It was so nice to have all the food prepared ahead of time, so I could enjoy her birthday too. 
On Tuesday we went to town to run some errands and I drove for the first time since my surgery. It felt great and Bailey was able to pick up some of her birthday freebies.
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I made plenty of meat to have for tacos and nachos over the weekend, so we ate on that most of the week until it was gone. 
Meals This Week
Saturday: Tacos with soft corn tortillas, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and onions
Sunday: Bailey’s birthday dinner...Nacho Bar & Queso Dip, Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Ice Cream for dessert seekers.
Monday: More Taco stuff
Tuesday: Birthday Freebies
Wednesday: Taco Stuffed Baked Potatoes
Thursday: Seven Layer Taco Dip, Baked Potatoes
Recipe of the Week
Loaded Queso
Ingredients:
1 block Velveeta Queso Blanco Cheese1 - 8 ounce bag Monterey Jack Cheese1 - 8 ounce block cream cheese1 - 10 ounce can Rotel, undrained1 cup Heavy Cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam type spray. Cube Velveeta and cream cheese and place in pan. Add other ingredients and place into oven to melt, about 20 minutes. Remover from oven and stir well. Enjoy with tortilla chips. 
Saving on Entertainment
Bailey is a Harry Potter fan, so for her birthday she wanted to watch the Harry Potter films all over again. So starting last Saturday, we watched one film per day as we were eating dinner. She has all of the DVDs so this came at no cost to us. And best of all, she was thrilled watching them all over again. 
We also began playing games again this week, which included Ramen Fury, Sorry, and Oh Gnome You Don’t! The Sorry game was one we picked up at a yard sale and is vintage, so the playing pieces are very nice since it is  vintage game. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Freebies

Bailey loaded up on birthday freebies this week. Items she received free included a small pizza from Marcos, a free slice of pizza from Sbarros, a free cookie from both Chick-fil-a and The Great American Cookie shop, free sandwiches from Firehouse Subs and Jimmy Johns. She also got a free blueberry biscuit from Bojangles and a free chocolate croissant from Panera Bread. 
On Thursday we both received a free Cheesy Toasted Breakfast Burrito from Taco Bell, which was giving them free to everyone. We stopped in on our way to a yard sale where Bailey found some plants. 

That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.

Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 

 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

 2. My PayPal Tip Jar

Frugal Friday ~ October 15, 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Wednesday I had my follow up visit with my eye doctor and received a good report. I thanked him for restoring my eye sight. It truly is a blessing that such gifted hands restored my eyesight. I will always be grateful. 
We’ve been needing a new shower head in the bathroom for a while now and had even ducted taped the old one to to make it last longer. Well the time had come to replace ours and we had been looking for new ones online. Guess what Bailey found while at a yard sale on Saturday?

You guessed it! A brand new Waterpik shower head. We were so tickled, and already have it installed. It’s just wonderful. 
Earning Money
I redeemed 30 points from MobileXpressions for $5.00 in PayPal cash.
Avoiding Spending
We didn’t spend any money on groceries this week, just continued to make do with what’s here. I will be doing our monthly grocery shop today for Bailey has a birthday on Sunday. She is wanting a Nacho Bar for her birthday and I’ll make her a chocolate cake and she requested chocolate ice cream too. She will be 24 years old on Sunday. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
As usual we used up all of our leftovers and had no food waste. 
Meals This Week
Friday & Saturday: Fiesta Chicken, Corn, Roasted Potatoes 
Saturday: Hamburgers with Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Tomatoes, Fries
Sunday: Chicken Fajitas, Tortillas, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Corn, Broccoli
Monday: Chili Mac using some dried kidney beans, half a pound of ground beef, tomatoes, corn, and elbow macaroni. 
Tuesday: Surgery Day - Bailey made dinner at home. Chicken Tenders, Hummus with Crackers
Wednesday:  Honey Baked Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Brussels Sprouts
Thursday: Chicken Stir Fry, Rice, Broccoli ~I used up some rice from earlier in the week and added a package of the Sun Bird Fried Rice seasoning packet, which really adds flavor to rice. 
Recipe of the Week
Fiesta Chicken
Ingredients:
2 to 3 pounds chicken1 to 2 onions, choppedSalt and Pepper to taste1 eight ounce cream cheese1 cup sour cream1/3 cup taco sauce2 envelopes fajita seasoning mix1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions:
Dice chicken and onions and cook in the Instant Pot for 15 minutes.Mix cream cheese, sour cream, taco sauce, and fajita seasoning together. Add chicken and stir together.Place in a sprayed casserole dish and sprinkle with cheese.Bake for 30 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Notes:
If I’m only doing two pounds of chicken, then I would only use one packet of fajita seasoning mix. The same with the sour cream, if I’m only doing two pounds of chicken, I would only use half of a cup of sour cream. You can use any already cooked chicken, cut up however you like it. 
What I've been Reading This Week
The Moneyist - Interesting money advice sort of like a Dear Abby column. There are some sticky situations that people can get into, and the advice they get back is pretty solid. 

Eye Surgery Update #2

Good Wednesday morning to all my friends. I wanted to update you and let you know that my second eye surgery went well with no complications. I have a follow up visit today and hopefully he will tell me that I can drive again. I’m looking forward to that. I hope you all have a terrific Wednesday!
Belinda

Frugal Friday October 8, 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
It’s been a rainy week here in the SE corner of Tennessee. We needed some rain, so I'm grateful for it. 
Quote of the Week

The most treasured things passed down from generation to generation are family recipes. Robert  St. John

My Frugal Week
On Saturday I gave myself a haircut and then vacuumed the area to clean it up and ended up vacuuming most of the house. I’ve been cleaning a lot since my surgery as I can see so much better (dirt I couldn’t see before). 

Bailey was shopping at the thrift store and found me a bag full of reading glasses for only $2.00. 
Earning Money
I’ve been cleaning out the pantry and decided  to sell a mandolin slicer we bought at a yard sale but hadn’t used. Bailey listed it in Facebook Marketplace and it sold for $40 on the same day. 
I also made two sales on eBay this week. I sold an old Coca Cola bottle from Kentucky and a mini Betty Crocker pie plate. 
I earned $7.51 on a Amazon card for a milk purchase settlement. 
Avoiding Spending
We didn’t buy any groceries this week other than the pizza from Publix. We used what we had here at home to make meals. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I was running low on flour this week, and decided to add some to my Walmart grocery order. They had the two pound bag for $1.00 and the five pound bag for $1.18. Three extra pounds of flour for eighteen cents?! What a great deal, although I bought the ten pound bag for $2.24. 
We have two freezers here and one day while going back and forth between my recipes on the blog and the Walmart grocery order, I realized I had frozen bananas in one freezer and frozen pumpkin in the other, and realized I could make my Pumpkin Banana Bread using both ingredients. So, I made a loaf on Tuesday to have this week. 

Hamburger Bun Pan

I bought this hamburger bun pan a while ago off of eBay. Turns out it is a great way to make eggs for sandwiches too. 

Egg McMuffin Eggs

Self Care Sunday

Image Credit
Remember that in order to help others you need to help yourself first. You cannot pour water from an empty well. So take some time today to nurture your mind, body and spirit. 
As for me, I will be making a cup of my favorite herbal tea, relaxing, and reading up on my favorite blogs today. I’m hoping for a stress free day to rejuvenate myself. 
How about you?
Belinda

Frugal Friday ~ October 1, 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Bailey went to her book club on Friday evening. 
We went to seven yard sales on Saturday. At one point we heard the familiar honking of some Canadian Geese and looked up to see several in their familiar V form. 
Mopped the kitchen and bathroom floors with lemon Lysol on Monday. It smells so good.
As you already know, Tuesday was eye surgery day for me. I’m doing fine although I still can’t read this well, so this will be a short blog post. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Meals This Week
Friday: Homemade Pizza and Salad
Saturday: Tacos on soft corn tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. I stretched the taco meat by adding a cup of rice, which was in my fridge from another meal. That made about sixteen tacos the first night for dinner, which we shared with Mom and Dad. In the morning I added the leftover taco meat to scrambled eggs and made another four tacos. We still had enough for two tacos on Monday morning.  
Sunday: We must have been tired because we both took a nap and missed dinner. I finally just made us a sandwich around 7 p.m. and called it a day. 
Monday: Dirty Rice, Salad, Corn on the Cob. 
Tuesday: Dominoes Pizza
Wednesday: Pizza Hut
Thursday: Chicken Fajitas, Corn, Rice
What I've been Reading This Week
Getting Ahead of the Holiday Meal CostMore food.org

That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree