Fourth Friday Friday of March 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Last Saturday I spent the day cleaning Mom’s room for her. She will be coming home today, so I worked in there cleaning and moving furniture, so home health and caregivers will have space to work with her. 
Mom’s vacuum died a long time ago, so she asked me to buy her a new one from Walmart, so I ordered a Bissell for $59 and some Febreeze vacuum bags with Gain. I vacuumed her room before her arrival.
Joy of the Week

Before Mom’s return, Bailey and I made a trip to Knoxville to go thrifting for inventory. We left on Tuesday morning and came home Thursday. We went to multiple thrift stores, stayed in a hotel for two nights, went swimming and ate some of our favorite foods. It was just the break we needed from the stressful activities of the last few weeks. 
One of the stores we went into was a thrift store where the proceeds support the local animal shelter. They had cats in the store and multiple cat houses, cat condos and scratching posts for their pleasure. Here is a photo of their yellow cat. He loved my loving on him and scratching his head. 

We both found some great stuff like one store had bags where you could fill them with books for $3.00, which is right up my alley. I found another magazine rack for my kitchen storage project. I found a lot of clothes in my size, storage bins, and several other items. We had so much fun and would love to do it again one day.
Meals This Week
Friday: Taco Night!
Saturday: Chicken Tenders, Fried Okra, Mac & Cheese, Broccoli
Sunday: Beefy Baked Beans, Mashed Potatoes, Green Peas
Monday: It’s been too long and I can’t remember. 😂 
Tuesday: Stock & Barrel Bacon Burger & Fries
Wednesday: Mexican Food! ❤️ ❤️ 
Thursday: Chicken Pot Pie with Homemade Thyme & Garlic Biscuit Crust 

That’s all the news to report from here this week ~ short, but sweet.

How was your week?

Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Third Frugal Friday of March 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Friday I went out to start my car and realized I had a flat tire. Ugh. I called a tow truck to tow it to the tire shop. The tire shop didn’t charge me anything to fix it as I bought my tires there. Over the weekend I signed up for an AAA membership for both myself and Bailey. The first year for an additional member is free at this time. 
That was the last day we went anywhere this week. We’ve stayed home and had all our meals here. Not eating out and cooking at home is a great way to save money.
We received a check this week from the items we sold at the Sweet WeePeets consignment sale. We sold over $300 in items that we no longer use, so if you are needing some extra money, selling things around your home can pay off in a big way. 
Friday night went from rain to snow overnight and turned cold with a temperature of 26 degrees on Saturday. I finally turned some heat on once the inside temperature went down to 50 degrees. 
It pays to stay on top of your medical bills. My insurance went back and paid a couple of claims from last year and my doctors office issued a refund for me this week of $80.00. I’ll take it. :)
I’m not a fan of hot spicy foods and I don’t even care for some of the minty toothpastes because they are hot to me. Recently I purchased some Red Seal Lemon toothpaste from Amazon.  It’s such a nice change of pace to have toothpaste that isn’t too spicy for my tastes. 
Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen
I’m going to say that I am surprised at how often I see meat served in some homes on YouTube. Often meat is served for breakfast like bacon, ham or sausage. Sometimes I even see smoked sausage served for breakfast, which really surprises me as the cost of that will add significantly to the family grocery budget. I also see foods like chicken or taco meat served for lunch. 
We do have sausage occasionally for breakfast here, but it is more of a treat once a month or so. And, I don’t make any meat based dishes for lunch unless it is leftover from dinner the day before. The only time I make meat is for dinner and even then we have our fair share of meatless meals. It’s just one of the ways we save money here by limiting meat to just once per day.
Meals This Week
Friday: Friday night Pizza
Saturday:  Leftovers from the Meatloaf, Potato Pancakes, and Peas 
Sunday: Better Cheddars, Tater Tots, Steamed Broccoli
Monday: Sticky Pineapple Chicken, Roasted Potatoes, and Steamed Broccoli
Tuesday: Macaroni and Cheese, Steamed Broccoli
Wednesday: Leftovers of Chicken, Mac and Cheese, and Broccoli
Thursday: Dirty Rice, Corn on the Cob, Carrots, and Broccoli
Saving on Entertainment
I’ve been watching Three Rivers Homestead on YouTube this week. She is a family of nine who homeschools her children and works hard every month to keep them fed within her budget.
Freebies

This week I received a free bottle of Maple Syrup from Canada via Ripple Street. 

How was your week? We would love to hear all about it in the comments.

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Second Frugal Friday of March 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

“Remember,  saying things doesn’t make it so; words are often a posture.”

~ Heather Cox Richardson

My Frugal Week
Last Friday we went to the Sweet WeePeets consignment sale. Bailey was looking for inventory while I was shopping for myself and clothes for Mom. I found several things for her to wear and some good stuff for me as well. 

Some of the things I found were these three beautiful bowls with saucers.

Nineteen brand new wash clothes, which cost right at 60 cents each. 

Two brand new Chicago Metallic round cake pans for $3.00 each. 
Other items include a Wolfgang Puck universal mixer, new quad cane, oven mitts, a new Instant Pot glass lid - still in the box, Pyrex Bowl with thermal bag, four like new towels, and a pretty teal laundry basket. We were also able to get another very nice drying rack to hang clothes.
We went back on Tuesday for the beginning of the 50% off sale to see what was left. Bailey was able to find even more inventory at the reduced rate. The sale is marked down on Friday night and Saturday to 70% off, but they are calling for rain and possible snow, so I don’t know if we will go back. 
The Affordable Connectivity Program is a program for low income households to ensure they can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare and more. We applied for this in February and received our first bill from Verizon this week with the $30 discount. That combined with the $20 fee Verizon gives us for setting up automatic payments will now help us save $50 on our phone/Internet bill each month. 
We have enough cloth napkins that we only need to wash them every other week. This was the week for this task. I’ve not bought paper towels since April of 2018, so almost four years and I figure I have saved almost $400 in that time frame. 
Mom remains in the rehab facility for now and they’ve scheduled her surgery for April 26th, 2022. They have her on a list in case there is a cancellation before then. 
Taking care of business for an aging parent has me going through so many different emotions right now. I’ve written about it before, but both of my parents did not plan their financial lives very well and have no retirement savings. All of that has really come to light with Mom’s accident. It’s made me realize, even more than ever, to try and make it as easy as I can for Bailey when that time comes for her. 
On Monday I stripped my bed all of the bedclothes and washed them. I put some of them away for winter storage as we have started to run the air conditioner here at times. 
Joy of the Week
One bright joy this week came from some flowers Bailey bought. She knows my favorite flowers are hyacinths and she bought me an early Mother’s Day present, which includes them and some daffodils. The entire kitchen smells wonderful thanks to the hyacinths and every time I walk in there I can smell their lovely fragrance. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Keeping track of what I have on hand helps me save money in the kitchen, and that means going through what I have in the pantry and freezer regularly. I also go through the refrigerator several times each week. Doing so helps me prevent food waste, which saves me money. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Chicken Fajitas, Flour Tortillas, Mexican Rice, Corn, Broccoli
Saturday: We picked up a pizza from the Walmart deli and had that for dinner along with a salad. 
Sunday: Grilled Chicken, Brown & Wild Rice Pilaf, Steamed Broccoli
Monday: Hamburgers with Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, and Pickles, Grilled Onions, and Seasoned Fries
Tuesday: Grilled Salmon, Baked Potato, Asparagus 
Wednesday: Chicken with Onions, Salad, Broccoli, 
Thursday: Meatloaf, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans with Onions
Recipe of the Week
I made this for dinner on Friday when I served Chicken Fajitas for dinner. I didn’t measure the cheese or sour cream as my Dad had given me some of his Buy Fresh Meal kit ingredients, so I wanted to use them up. I used three of the triangle sour cream packets, which added up to three ounces.
 Also, I made my rice in the Instant Pot and just added the chilies, sour cream, and cheese at the end and did not bake in the oven. It turned out well and was a nice change of pace for dinner. 
Chili Rice Bake from Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients 
Ingredients:
1 cup rice1 - 7 ounce can diced green Chili’s1 pint sour cream 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese
Directions:
Cook rice according to directions. Add remaining ingredients and add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place into a buttered casserole dish.Bake covered dish at 325 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. 
Saving on Entertainment
We finished the third season of Schitt’s Creek. The final episode was such a sweet one and we both really like Patrick. 
I’ve been playing Wordle on the New York Times website. 
https://www.nytimes.com/games/wordle/index.html
Wordle 262 5/6
🟨⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜🟨⬜🟨🟩⬜⬜⬜🟨🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩
What I've been Reading This Week
The Ultimate Cooking with 4 Ingredients written by Jean Coates. 
Freebies
Bailey and I both received coupons in the mail for a free item from Bath and Body Works. We went in there on Sunday and were able to get two of the small body washes for free. 

How was your week? Did you add to your home this week to be more prepared for the future? It’s so important to be mindful and prudent and look after your family to the best of your ability.

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, 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 March 2022

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
On Saturday I donned my mask and decided to go into Walmart to see what I could find for my Mom to wear. I’m glad I did as they had a lot of clothing on clearance that would fit her. I found several pairs of pants and shirts with some as low as $3.00 each.  Her CNA hung them up for her and asked Mom where I bought them and made plans to go shopping there after work because she liked them so much. 
Mom saw the orthopedic doctor on Monday. The damage is worse than they initially thought, and she will have to have a complete shoulder replacement. I told her she would be the Six Million Dollar Man when they are finished. 
Recently I bought a new back scrubber from Walmart, but it fell apart in the shower the second time I used it. I tried to put it back together as it’s just made of mesh and tied together, but that didn’t work very well. So, I went on their app and started a refund. They issued the refund instantly and said I didn’t even have to return it. So, another thing checked off on my to do list. 

On Wednesday we had a grocery order from Walmart delivered. I love being stocked up on the things we use regularly. 
The other day Bailey had to go to Chattanooga and we were out of eggs, so we decided to do a pickup at Aldi for a few things. We had a choice of two different Aldis to use and checking prices on both I found eggs at one store for $1.99 while eggs at the other Aldi were only 75 cents. So, we bought them from the 75 cent store to save money. 
Earning Money
I earned $14.08 from Amazon, which was for six months of commissions whenever one of my readers clicks on an Amazon link from my blog. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
Making soup so much last week really helped me to save money on our grocery budget. We not only ate soup for dinner, but also for lunches as well. The four soups I made were all meatless, which also saved money. 
Meals This Week
Friday: Bailey had book club, so it was just me for dinner, so I just heated up some leftovers of sweet potatoes and kale. 
Saturday: Using up many produce items in the fridge, I made vegetable soup for dinner. 
Sunday: Bailey requested more Potato Soup, so I made a new batch on Sunday. I also made some French Bread Pizzas to go with it. 
Monday: Shrimp, Teriyaki Noodles, Steamed Broccoli and Cabbage
Tuesday: Garlic Chicken, Pasta, Kale Greens
Wednesday: I used this opportunity to clean out the refrigerator of some leftovers so we had several things such as Chicken Teriyaki, Rice, Garlic Pasta, the last of the Kale Greens, and Egg Rolls. It felt good to use up and not waste those items. 
Thursday: Fajita Baked Chicken, Mexican Rice, Steamed Broccoli
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