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Friday, May 13, 2022

Second Frugal Friday of May 2022


Welcome to Friday! 

My Frugal Week

This week our new cell phone bill came out and I am happy to report it is down $60 from $200 to $140, which we both pay for half, so $70 each. The latest discount was for $20 off the bill for signing up for automatic payments. I’ve already paid the bill that is due by the end of the month. 

I cancelled an iTunes subscription that I was no longer using that was set for renewal in June, so I wouldn’t be charged the $19.95 annual renewal cost. 

I also cancelled a subscription service for an over the counter medicine that was set to renew this month. I didn’t recall subscribing to it, and the representative suggested I may have done it accidentally when I ordered it in January. Either way, that is now taken care of as well.


Bailey found a Harry Potter Marauder’s Map blanket with hood at the thrift store for $2.00. Bailey loves the Harry Potter series and was tickled to have found this and at such a  great price.

I visited with Mom in the rehab center Sunday on Mother’s Day. She didn’t want me to leave and even asked me to take her home with me, which breaks my heart. Her follow up appointment was on Monday. The surgeon removed the staples and said her arm was  naturally swollen due to the surgery.

When I had groceries delivered last week, Walmart said ketchup was now a shipped item, so they shipped it via FedEx. I received a text from Walmart saying it was delivered on Saturday. 

We went outside and looked all around, but couldn’t find the package, so I reported it as missing and Walmart sent out a replacement item. I found the package on Sunday when we went to visit Mom. 


The FedEx driver tied it to our mailbox, which they are not supposed to do. Our driveway is 1/8 of a mile long and can’t be seen from the house. I didn’t think FedEx would do something like this.  So, I called Walmart to let them know and they told me to keep the second bottle of ketchup when it arrived on Tuesday. 

Joy of the Week

The joy of my week happened on Friday night last week when Vickie over at Vickie’s Kitchen & Garden left me a comment about embedded comments on Blogger. She left me a link on how to fix it via a blog post made by Leigh over at 5 Acres & A Dream

Let me tell you that I made just a couple of tweaks and now the problem of having to sign in using the anonymous button to post comments on my own blog is over. I’m still not able to post on some blogs such as More Parsimony, and Sluggy’s blog. and some blogs I’m still having to post anonymously, but this is a step in the right direction. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to Vickie and Leigh for helping me solve what was becoming a very frustrating problem. 


Another joy this week was Mother’s Day and my birthday on Sunday and Monday. Pictured above are the gifts Bailey bought for my birthday. A brand new in the box weather station, which she bought at a yard sale for $5.00. The magazine came free from a yard sale also. And it’s hard to see but there is a new cell phone mount for my car included. 

We both have enjoyed the new weather station. I’ve had them before only to have the outdoor sensor go bad and used them indoors only until they finally stopped working altogether. At this time the outside humidity is 80%, up from 60% in the photo below, and I love knowing this information. 


Bailey installed the cell phone holder in my car that evening. Here is a photo of it ready to go for our next yard sale day. I use Google Maps to create a list of Friday and a list of Saturday yard sales and then check them off as we go to each one.


Question of the Week

Would you spend money to go to a destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico?

Dr. Phil had a show on recently about a Dad who received an inheritance and has made two trips to Ukraine to meet a lady, but hasn’t met her so far. (Catfishing?) 

His daughter is getting married in Cancun, but the dad is unwilling to spend money for that trip. 

How about you? Would you spend money on a destination wedding? 

As for me, it would depend on who was getting married. I would go for my daughter Bailey, but probably not for someone I barely knew. I think the Dad in this situation is wrong since he is willing to pay for other trips, but not this one. What do you think?

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

I like to keep my kitchen neat and clean and orderly and when I’m cooking I have a sink full of hot soapy water to wash dishes as I go along and wipe down the counters and stove as I cook. It’s something that I actually enjoy doing and don’t see it as a chore in any way. Having a clean kitchen motivates me to go in there and cook, which saves me money over takeout or dining out. 

Another thing we did this year was instead of cake for my birthday we made another Ice Cream Bar with toppings. The toppings included strawberries, pineapple, cherries, chocolate, caramel, and peanuts. They can be a lot more fun compared to cake. 

Meals This Week

Friday:  Cheeseburgers and Onion Rings or Tacos, which did not happen. The power went out around 4 p.m. due to a storm and didn’t come back on until after 10 p.m. There was no way I was cooking anything for dinner at that time of night. 😂 LOL

Saturday:  Tacos with chopped potatoes to extend the meat, shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives, sour cream, and taco sauce served on your choice of flour or corn tortillas.  Bailey adds jalapeños and chipotle sauce to hers, which I avoid as I am a wimp when it comes to spicy heat in my food. Delicious and one of my favorite meals!

Sunday: Happy Mother’s Day! Dinner tonight was bought by Bailey for my birthday, which is Monday and Mother’s Day. We picked a locally owned Italian restaurant because they make the best pizzas here. My favorite is one with Italian Sausage, Pepperoni and Black Olives. They have a buy one get one free option, which we will use so we will have pizza left for my birthday on Monday. 

Monday: Day 2 for Pizza. 😋 

Tuesday: Movie Night - Bailey still had pizza left. I wasn’t very hungry, so just munched on some celery sticks. 

Wednesday: Hamburger Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus. 

Thursday: Grilled Chicken, Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli. 

Recipe of the Week

I first made this recipe for meatballs back in 1994. The flavor of all the spices really shines through and makes these taste delicious. 

Meatballs

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef
2 egg whites
3 tablespoon minced onion
1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions:

 Mix all ingredients together well so spices are evenly distributed. 
Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Saving on Entertainment

April 27, 2011 disaster struck the nearby town where we shop and leveled parts of it when multiple tornadoes swept through the area. Chet from the YouTube channel, Dream Poet, posted this video looking back at the area eleven years later. 


Another fun activity from this week is this from Miami’s underwater 
livestream of a coral reef called Coral Morphologic



We finished watching the last episode of Manifest this week, which was so good. Now we are going to finish the last ten episodes of This Is Us

In the Kitchen with Mama Mel is a new to me YouTube channel that I found this week and have been enjoy. https://youtube.com/c/InTheKitchenWithMommaMel

What I've been Reading This Week

Archive of USDA Farm Bulletins -  Has some really good informational bulletins about so many useful topics that you can read for free. One of the ones I’m currently reading is called Planning a Subsistence Homestead

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 ~
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20 comments:

  1. I’m sure it broke your heart when your mom asked to go home. I hope she can come home soon. Sounds like you had a great birthday and Mother’s Day. Happy belated birthday to you!! 🎈 no on the destination wedding unless it was my child!! The dad who is going to Ukraine is crazy! 🤪

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  2. I was not having to sign in. I would post as usual, but the comment would not show up. I was stymied. It seems to be back to normal. All the solutions people gave made no sense to me since the same thing was not happening to me. Since you have moderation, I have to come back later to see if my comment made it through if I can remember.

    My next birthday cake will be an ice cream cake. Chocolate frosting is the only part of birthday cake I like.

    Those weather stations are neat. I have always wanted one.

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  3. The father who won't go to his daughter's destination wedding is mean and rude. How dare he go to Europe on the chance he meets someone and not to her wedding. That said, I think destination weddings are ridiculous unless you are trying to cut people out of attending.

    Now, the only problem I am having with commenting is not being able to see your blog as I comment so I cannot scroll back up and see what you wrote that I want to comment on in the comment box.

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  4. I didn't leave the country but went from Pennsylvania to Myrtle beach for my nephews wedding two weeks ago. Left on a Thursday and came home on a Tuesday. It was wonderful to see him get married. If I could afford to go, why not?

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  5. Great on your savings with the phone! It sure all adds up today. Your meals all sound good.
    I hear more and more that people are having trouble with blogger. I wish they would quit changing stuff and leave things alone.
    Have a nice weekend. HUGS to mom!!!!

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  6. I had only Google users could comment on my blog due to some nasty anonymous comments. I have reset it to all readers can comment. I hope this helps you should you decide to comment on my blog.
    Nice frugal week you had. Gosh I sound like Yoda talks. lol

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  7. Happy Birthday! I had a Mother's Day Birthday week too. I turned 62 yesterday.

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  8. A cell phone bill of $200 a month is too high I am so happy you got it lowered. It is so hard to tell your mom that you could not take her home.

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  9. Great recipes for meatballs! Thank you for posting that. Nice job on saving some cash on your phone plan I didn't know that you could get a discount that way. Im gonna have to look into that.

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  10. Happy Belated Birthday, Belinda! Sounds like you had a great weekend combining it with Mother's Day!

    I enjoy reading your blog - one of my favorites!

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  11. Ahh, I just bet it broke your heart to have to leave your Mom.

    The meatball recipe looks really good. Thanks for posting it.

    Nope I would not spend money on a destination wedding especially to Mexico, heard too many horror stories. However since he has already spent loads of money going to the Ukraine to meet a woman who never shows up, he should darn well spend the cash to attend the wedding.

    God bless.

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  12. Belated Happy Birthday wishes! Sounds like a great birthday and Mother's day! The weather station is such a cool gift. The cell phone holder will be so handy for planning your yard sale routes. Yum on the pizza and ice cream!
    What a cool blanket! Glad that your mom is healing ok, and hopefully she will get stronger each day.
    I probably wouldn't go to a destination wedding unless it was my child.
    Hope you have a great weekend!


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  13. Happy Birthday and Happy Mother's Day! I would recommend checking out Mint Mobile, that uses T-Mobile cell towers. It's like 15-30/month and even cheaper if you pay upfront for 6 months or a year. I think we paid less than 300 for 6 months for 3 lines, and we moved from overpriced Verizon (190/mo) with no problems, sim cards were fedexed in 2 days. Just check that T-Mobile works well in your area.

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  14. Happy Birthday, Belinda! I hope it was wonderful.
    TO answer your question, of course I would go to my child's destination wedding!
    I know it was hard to leave your mom at the rehab facility after she asked to go home with you.
    Wishing you lots of luck with your yard sales!

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  15. Happy Birthday Belinda!

    Praying for your mom's recovery. Leaving them can be so hard.

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  16. Thank you all so much for the birthday wishes. It was a nice day spent at home this year. I’m very sad about my Mom leaving as my sister and her dh came to get her and take her back with them to Michigan for a while till she can get better. I miss her terribly.

    Penny, it did break my heart. I just wanted to take her home with me.

    Lana, thank you for the birthday wishes.

    Linda, I am still unable to post a comment on your blog, unfortunately.

    Cheryl, yes, I wish Blogger would stop changing stuff too or at least fix what is broken. Lol

    Sluggy, thank you so much for fixing your blog so I can post on it again.

    Kim, I agree that $200 is too much for a cell phone bill. I should have said that also included our Internet. I love that I was able to get it lowered.

    Anne, thank you for the birthday wishes. We had a lot of fun at the yard sales this weekend.

    Donna, I would love to use T Mobile, but it does not work where we live. Verizon is the only company that will work out here, unfortunately. Thank you so much for the suggestion though.

    Kathy, the new cell phone holder works so well! I enjoyed it so much better this weekend.

    Jackie, let me know if you try the meatball recipe, it’s a keeper.

    Thank you all for reading my blog. The comments are weird right now, I know. We’ll just try to make the best of it. I hope you all have a great Sunday and week ahead!



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  17. Amy Thank you for the birthday wishes. It has been harder than I thought it would be. Thank you for the support.

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  18. I know I left a comment other than the one that showed up here. Yes, I would go to my child's destination wedding! The guy is foolish to even go abroad in hopes of meeting someone.

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  19. Yes, he is crazy for not going to his daughters wedding! She will probably not be able to forget that. I’m still unable to comment on your blog. I sure wish I could.

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  20. I'm so glad it helped Belinda. I just wish they had a reply button don't you?
    Your Mom breaks my heart too..It must have been so hard to leave. Stay strong!

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