Fourth Frugal Friday of February 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
This past week I had ordered a new pair of Xero shoes from Zappos, but when they came they were too tight around my foot, so I sent them back. UPS picked them up the next day and I received an email letting me know my refund was issued the very next day. That is why I love to use Zappos as their service is wonderful. 
Ever since I had cellulitis in my left leg, that foot will swell during the day, so I ordered a compression ankle sock to see if that would help. The shipping was $10.99, so I looked around for a promo code and finally found one for free shipping that worked. It took me three or four tries using various codes, but by doing that I was able to save $10.99 on the shipping
Bailey had oral surgery with anesthesia on Monday. We bought plenty of soft foods for her to eat for a few days afterwards such as yogurt, applesauce, pudding, and potatoes for mashing. The first day I made her a broccoli cheese soup and used my stick blender to make it smooth. I did the same thing with the potato soup later in the week.
Mom remains in rehab for now, although she wants to come home, but needs the therapy for her broken arm. So we wait and see what improvements will come for her. I call her everyday, multiple times per day, because she is lonely and scared. My heart breaks for her, but I know she needs to be there for now. 
The rehab facility has asked me to bring Mom some clothes to wear. The problem is that Mom lost weight during the pandemic and her clothes no longer fit. The ones she has with her are falling off as she is down to 116 pounds. I’m not even sure what her new size would be and I’ve been looking online for pants that will fit her, looking for petite length and tapered leg because her legs are so tiny. 
I decided to go looking in her bedroom for items that would work and I did find several things such as Capri length pajama pants. They have an elastic waist and should work even if they are big in the legs. I also took two pair of pants she got for Christmas and hemmed those. Doing this saved money over buying new especially since I don’t know her size right now. 
Walmart issued me a refund of $192 after I sent back an appliance that wouldn’t work. 
Earning Money
I sold an item on eBay this week and earned $16.50 on the item. 
Avoiding Spending
I stayed out of the stores as usual and didn’t buy any groceries online. We are using what we have here to make meals. There is plenty in our pantry, so it’s just getting in there and taking the effort to prep food. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
This week I took the produce drawers out of the refrigerator and gave them a good scrubbing. I also washed out the refrigerator inside and out. 
I did all the usual things like using up the leftovers, freezing bread rather than letting it go to waste, etc. 
Meals This Week ~ Lots of soup on the menu this week for Bailey. 
Friday: Grilled Beef Hot Dogs, Carrots, Cooked Apples, Rice & Cheese
Saturday: Chicken, Rice, Lettuce & Tomatoes, Broccoli
Sunday: Beefy Baked Beans, Vegetable Stir Fry, Radishes, and Beets
Monday & Tuesday: Homemade Broccoli & Cheese Soup
Wednesday & Thursday: Homemade Potato Soup
Thursday: Chicken, Purple Sweet Potatoes, Kale with Fig Balsamic Vinegar
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

Third Frugal Friday of February 2022

My Frugal Week
This has been a rough week here to say the least. On Saturday night my Mom had a bad fall and broke her arm. We ended up calling an ambulance for her and they decided to admit her into the hospital. On Wednesday they transferred her to a rehab facility. 
I’m sorry I’ve not been commenting on your blogs very much, but this was the reason why and I wanted to let you know. My heart has been other places this week, so this blog post will be a short one. 
We lost power last night for about eight hours due to the high winds. I was so glad when the lights finally came back on as I’m used to sleeping with a little bit of light. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Last week I used the last of some hamburger buns from the thrift bread outlet to make garlic bread, so no waste on those here. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Better Cheddars, Roasted Carrots & Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: There were so many leftovers In the fridge that I decided to heat those up for dinner and had a motley crew of them. They included pizza, lasagna, green beans with onions, potatoes and carrots, radishes, and black olives. 
Not everyone ate everything, but rather ate what they wanted. All that was left after dinner were some of the potatoes and carrots, so it was a good way to use up the leftovers without waste. 
Monday: Chicken Stir Fry, Rice and Vegetables 
Tuesday: Pizza for Movie Night
Wednesday: Sausage Pie, Cole Slaw, Kale Greens with Fig Balsamic Vinegar 
Thursday: Chicken Tenders, Cole Slaw, Salads
Sorry this weeks post is a short one. I hope you’ve had a good week. 
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Second Frugal Friday February 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Eat half,Walk double,Laugh triple,And love without measure.

~ Dr. Esselstyn

My Frugal Week
We’ve been decluttering this week to get ready for a consignment sale at the end of the month. We’ve cleaned out every cabinet and nook and cranny around. I love the feeling that I get when an area is cleaned out and organized. Hopefully we will make some money from the sale,  but I’m already happy over the extra space that’s opened up here. 
Laundry was hung up to dry this week to save money on electricity. 
I mended a shirt for a Bailey that had a tear in one of the seams.  
I used a coupon code to save 20% on a clothing item for myself. 
Last Friday we went to a couple of thrift stores again, so Bailey could purchase inventory for her online shops. 

I came home with a basket magazine holder. I saw photos recently from a lady who buys them whenever she sees them second hand and uses them to organize her baking sheets and pans with them. I loved the idea, so when I saw this one at the thrift store, I bought it. It corralled many wire racks and cutting boards and a few other odds and ends that always want to fall down in that cabinet. 

I found this gorgeous Waverley dust ruffle, pillow shams, and pillow. I checked all over and couldn’t find a size on it, but it looked queen sized, so I bought it for $9.99. Once I got it home, I Googled the size of a queen sized sheet, found it to be 60 inches, measured this one, and it was 60 inches. It’s like brand new and still starchy. 
Joy of the Week
We finally went inside the new Trader Joe’s in Chattanooga! It was so great, it was crowded, so we only stayed about ten minutes and wore our masks, but I loved it and can’t wait to go back again. I picked up a couple of different varieties of apples, some chopped vegetables, purple sweet potatoes and Bailey picked up several items as well. 
Earning Money
My income tax refund was deposited into my account this week. I believe this is the first time I’ve ever gotten it so quickly. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
We went to United Grocery Outlet specifically to buy honey. Their honey in the quart jar is much cheaper than any other store in town.
We went to Ingles to look for meat markdowns. We didn’t find any meat, but we did find five cans of tomato products in the crash and burn section for 50 cents each. Even a 28 ounce can of crush tomatoes was marked for 50 cents, so they came home with me. 
Of all the things we could run out of, we ran out of onions this week, so I did a grocery pick up order for two bags of onions while I was running errands on Monday. 
Save a Lot has whole chickens on sale this week for 99 cents a pound if you’re interested. Also, Publix has Oscar Meyer beef franks on sale for B1G1FREE.
Meals This Week
Friday: Pizza Night!
Saturday: Tacos
Sunday: Dirty Rice, Carrots, Beets, Cucumber Slices
Monday: Teriyaki Chicken, Basmati Rice, Green Onions.
Tuesday: Sticky Pineapple Chicken, Basmati Rice, Broccoli

Wednesday: Lasagna, Garlic Bread, Salad (Wednesday is Prince Spaghetti Day)
Thursday: Repeat of Lasagna, Garlic Bread, and Salad. What was left went into the freezer for another time. 
Saving on Entertainment
We started watching Manifest this week. 
Fried Rice 101 from America’s Test Kitchen YouTube channel, which is free to watch unlike their website. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
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

First Frugal Friday of February 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
PayPal gave me $15.50 in cash back in January for using my PayPal debit card. I love getting free money.
Finally I received the refund from my eye surgery provider. That’s $74.60 back in my bank account. 
We found graham crackers at Food City on clearance for 50 cents per box. 
Walmart has been out of stock on canned vegetables we use like corn and green beans.  They charge 50 cents per can while Target charges 55 cents per can. I like to keep at least 12 on hand, so I went ahead and ordered the maximum Target allows, which is ten cans. I bought enough items (corn, green beans, diced green Chili’s, low sodium three beans, Rotel, and pickled beets) to get free shipping on the order ($35). 
The lock on our back door was getting harder and harder to open and lock, so we had both the door lock and the deadbolt replaced this week. These were the original locks from 1986 when the house was built, so it was time. Cost to repair was $144, which included both locks. 
We stopped at the bread outlet while we were in Chattanooga on Monday and picked up Dave’s Killer Bread for $3.00 per loaf, cinnamon raisin bread, hamburger buns, and carrot cakes. 
We received two free magazines in the mail this week. 
Joy of the Week
In April 2020 devastating tornadoes in this area leveled the East Brainard Goodwill store in Chattanooga. The store was rebuilt and reopened in April of 2021. On Monday we had an appointment in Chattanooga and made a visit to the new store. 

There was no crowd, we wore our masks and maintained good social distancing. It was so nice to thrift again. I found several useful items such as flannel baby blankets for 99 cents. Have you seen the price of these on eBay? I’m used to yard sale prices and the ones on eBay are too much for my budget, so I was thrilled to find these. 

I also found a new tortilla cooker, two small zipper pouches. I like to put items in these and then put them in my purse to keep it organized. 
Avoiding Spending
Frugal Queen had this to say on Facebook this week and I wanted to share for those who didn’t see it.

Years ago, when I heard Dave Ramsay say, when you write a budget you give yourself a pay rise and give yourself permission to spend. 
It’s brilliant being frugal, looking for bargains, cutting corners, home cooking, doing your own DIY but if you’re not on top of your budget, it can all seem a bit hit and miss. 
I know it sounds nerdy but I love our budget, if I want clothes, there’s a budget, if I want to buy paint, or household items, there’s a budget.
I also like watching our small savings pot get a little bigger each month

. Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Remember those extra groceries we got by mistake last week? I did my best to incorporate them into some of our meals this week so as to not waste them. Of course some of the items went straight to the Little Free Pantry like the baby food. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Bailey had a book club meeting and they serve snacks, so we just ate a light dinner of salad with cheese and crackers. 
Saturday: Polish Kielbasa, Broccoli Rice and Cheese, Mixed Vegetables, Beets
Sunday: Chicken Fajitas, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli
Monday: Shrimp, Teriyaki Noodles, Broccoli, Cabbage, and Kale Greens
Tuesday: It’s movie night, so a late lunch and homemade pizzas. 
Wednesday: Better Cheddars, Scalloped Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables
Thursday: Hamburgers, Salad, Corn
Recipe of the Week
Part of the groceries we received last week included three pounds of potatoes, so this was the prefect recipe to use those. 

Scalloped Potatoes

Ingredients:

3 pounds potatoes, sliced 

¼ cup butter

1 large onion diced

2 cloves garlic minced

¼ cup flour

2 cups milk

1 cup chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)

1 teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚F.

To make the sauce, melt butter, onion and garlic over medium low heat. Cook until onion is softened. 

Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. 

Reduce heat to low. 

Combine milk and broth. 

Add a small amount at a time,  and whisk to thicken until smooth.

Bring to a boil over medium heat while continuing to whisk.  

Stir in salt and pepper and let boil for 1 minute.

At this point you can add one cup of cheese to make Au Gratin Potatoes. 

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. 

Combine potatoes with sauce and place in pan.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.

Uncover and bake for an additional 30 minutes until golden brown.

Saving on Entertainment
We’ve been catching up on This is Us this week. The show has such good writers. 
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