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Friday, July 29, 2022

Fifth Frugal Friday of July 2022


Welcome to Friday! 

Quote of the Week

The philosopher Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for dinner one night. 

He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king. 

Aristippus looked to Diogenes and said to him…

 “If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.”

Diogenes then looked at Aristippus and said to him…

Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.”
The statement didn’t mean a lot to me when I first read it in The Tightwad Gazette years ago. But the other day while I was eating a bowl of beans and the phrase came to mind.

Diogenes choose a different path for his life. Instead of being a good, quiet, subservient subject to the king, he learned to “live on lentils”, which says a lot about  living simply and well below your means. Learn to appreciate the simple things in life such as staying home and cooking good meals at home. 

Try your best not to live paycheck to paycheck, so you won’t have to be subservient to the king or your employer. I know it’s easier said than done, but there is a wealth of information out there to figure this out. You owe it to yourself to be disciplined enough to make it work in your favor. 

Just some food for thought. 

My Frugal Week

The weather had cooled off enough on Friday night for me to turn off the window air conditioner in my bedroom overnight. In fact, I was able to do that several nights this week, which will help save some money on the electric bill. 

My washing was done on Sunday when I washed two loads of my clothes, one light and one dark. I’ve said it before, but I have enough clothes to where I only have to wash them every other week or just twice a month. 

Doing laundry this way saves money on the electric bill and laundry supplies. Also, I don’t use the mark inside the laundry detergent cup they supply, but use less than is recommended and my laundry comes out clean and smelling fresh. 

On Tuesday evening I sorted through the dishes in our cabinet and picked out several things we no longer use to sell at the consignment sale. 

I received $5.00 from the Consumer Opinion Institute to complete one of their surveys. 

Question of the Week

What tricks have you found to save money by cooking at home verses eating out at a restaurant?

One way we combat this is using items we can buy at the grocery store that mimics eating out. For example, Aldi has the red bag chicken, which reminds a lot of people of Chic-fil-A. So, rather than spend money eating out, I can buy a bag of that and make it at home for less than the cost of a meal out. 

A similar meal that I make at home for $10.61 would cost us $30.20 at the Chic-fil-A restaurant, which is a savings of $19.59. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

We’ve been in use it up mode for the last month or so, using up food items in our pantry and freezer. It’s opened up a lot of space as a result, which  makes it easy to plan what I have on hand to make meals. 

On Sunday I made three gallons of tea, and instead of using thirty tea bags, only used twenty-four tea bags. We like strong tea, which is why we use ten bags per gallon. 

For my batch of unsweetened tea, I only used five new tea bags and used the other ones I had already used as well. I wanted to see if I liked it as well as a gallon made with ten bags and I did. I was just experimenting on different ways to save money on tea. 

 I also made a batch of peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for a treat. 

Since we were out of fresh milk, I mixed up a batch of powdered milk. I used the milk jug from our last purchase of fresh milk and shook it well every time I put a new gallon of tea in the refrigerator. 

We did make a small pick up from Aldi on Monday and spent $72.74.  We picked up dressing, eggs, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, tortillas, chicken, bread, buns, potatoes, and cantaloupes.

Back during the holidays I asked Bailey to pick me up a pie crust and she bought a graham cracker crust, which I didn’t need. It’s been lurking in my pantry ever since then, so this week I decided to use it to make a peanut butter pie. The recipe is featured in the recipe of the week in case you’re interested. 

This week I used up the last of the pancake mix for waffles, syrup

Meals This Week

Since I have my kitchen appliances more easily accessible now, I decided to use my Breville Wok to make a Chicken Fried Rice for dinner on Friday. 


I use the Sunbird Fried Rice seasoning mix because it tastes authentic. I used two onions and some broccoli for the vegetables. I added the chicken, an egg, and some leftover rice from earlier in the week. If I’d had any pineapple I would have added that, but I am out right now. I also added a couple of drops of La Tourangelle toasted sesame seed oil, but only after the dish was done cooking. It was a big hit. 

Friday:  Chicken Fried Rice with Onions & Broccoli 

Saturday: Beefy Baked Beans, Green Beans with Onions, Corn on the Cob. This was the fourth day in a row that we ate beans in various versions (lunch). They are very healthy (keeps blood sugar lower for hours) and economical. 

Sunday: Polish Sausage with diced Potatoes & Onions, Mixed Vegetables. 

Monday: Aldi Red Bag Chicken Sandwiches, Basmati Rice & Vegetables. My cost for this meal was $10.61. 

Tuesday: Lemon Pepper Chicken Sautéed, Basmati Rice & Vegetables. 

Wednesday: Hamburgers with Cheese, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onions, and Pickles. Smashed Potatoes. 

Thursday: Repeat of Thursday since I had a doctors appointment and came home late and tired. 

Recipe of the Week

Peanut Butter Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese
1/2 cup sugar
1 - 8 ounce container whipped topping
1 graham cracker pie crust

Directions:

Beat peanut butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. 
Gently mix in the whipped topping. 
Spoon gently into pie shell and spread evenly. 
Refrigerate until ready to serve. 



Saving on Entertainment

We picked up the first season of Veronica Mars at McKay Used Books for $1.00 
last week, so that is what we will be watching for the time being. 

What I've been Reading This Week

Prices Never Go Down So Get Used To It written by Sluggy over at Don’t Read This; It’s Boring!

Freebies

Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. 

We would love to hear all about your week in the comment section.

Belinda
Debt Free & 
~ Living within our Means ~
My Linktree

24 comments:

  1. I haven't shopped at Aldi for a while since it's just enough farther that with gas, Id lose savings but miss some of their products. What's the red bag chicken price now? Last time I purchased it was up to $7.99, but still serves 4. We like on the brioche buns. I've never had chic fila a and won't, but I do know it's expensive for chicken sandwiches. I'm going to look at the pie recipe.

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    1. $8.79 is the price we paid and it had 6 chicken breasts in the bag. Chick-fil-A is really expensive, so we do not eat there very often. The pie is very easy to make. I joked with Bailey that even she could make it since she doesn’t like to cook. LOL

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  2. Sounds like a good week! I love that quote, and it really makes you think! I might substitute beans for lentils though. ;)
    Glad that the weather has cooled off a little; definitely saves on a/c.
    Your meals sound so good! I really like the aldi red bag chicken, but it hasn't been in stock for a while. Seems like aldi prices have gone up like everything else, and my store isn't stocked as well.
    Oh we really enjoyed your swiss steak recipe. Yummy and easy to make which is a definite win.
    Peanut butter pie is one of my favorite desserts, and my daughter made it for my birthday a few weeks ago, so good!
    Hope you have a great weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Bailey loves peanut butter pie too, even more than me. That was so sweet of your daughter to make one for your birthday. Happy belated birthday to you! I’m so glad you tried and liked the Swiss steak recipe. That is one of my favorites but we don’t have it too often due to the cost of the meat. I think there was one time when we couldn’t get the red bag chicken, so I’m glad it was available the other day. It’s definitely delicious.

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  3. I have always loved that quote, and think of it often. It sure is true!
    The weather is wonderful here at the moment and for the next couple days. I love that - we need to enjoy.
    Have a great weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cheryl. I hope you have a great weekend too. 😊

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  4. Peanut butter pie sounds delicious! And, I really appreciate that quote - it's how we try to live our lives. Have enough money that you can be flexible about your options. It's not always easy or possible, but it's a great goal.

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    1. I agree, it’s a goal worth striving towards. 😊

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  5. I would love to read how you store your small kitchen appliances. I love mine but have to keep them under the counter. You know how that goes, lol. Any tips I would be so grateful.
    I agree about the lentils. :)
    Just a lovely normal frugal week here. I am grateful for it. I haven't had any real normalcy since the pandemic began.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bought a new kitchen shelf to store them on. I’ll take a picture of it and post it for you soon. It’s made getting them in and out so much easier. I love the open shelf concept.

      I’m with you on no normalcy since the pandemic. I don’t know if I will ever feel true freedom like I did before the pandemic. 😢

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    2. Can you elaborate why you don’t feel true freedom? Such a free country compared elsewhere Im curious to understand others views.

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    3. My Mother had an auto immune disease and she was afraid to go to the doctor for fear of getting Covid19. She felt like she would die if she caught it. Instead, she stayed home for two years without medical attention while her liver was dying (unknown to us) and when she finally got the medical attention she needed she was in end stage liver failure.

      I also have an auto immune disease and stay home. When I do go out and then get sick later my daughter wonders if I have contacted Covid19. I just took an at home test for Covid19 on Monday because I had fever and chills after going out to the doctor two days prior.

      That to me is not freedom. Being able to go into the stores as long as I want and without a mask is freedom to me and I don’t feel that way right now. Maybe someday it will be that way again, but it’s not right now.

      I hope that explains what I meant when I said that. Feel free to ask any other questions.

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    4. I didn't see this comment until now. Why there is no freedom for my home since the pandemic. My husband was declared essential when everyone else was in lockdown. It was a very scary time because well we saw a lot of ugliness in people then. My husband & I are quiet, don't stir the pot kind of people. To see this ugliness was eye opening.

      Supplies were so hard to find that I was in charge of buying supplies for my husband's work. It was a such a challenge. I was put in charge because I actually could find things. I know that is because I have been frugal all my life so I have those resources and knowledge to think outside the box. It was hard, stressful and so tiring. There were times I would spend eight hours a day looking for hand sanitizer.

      My husband worked at a small company for twenty-five years but the worker shortage left the company so short staffed they had to sell and close. This was a prestigious seventy year old company. My husband was the youngest worker there. Yes, everyone had seniority on him. My husband worked there for twenty-five years. In the end it was my husband and the owner doing heavy construction work and heavy construction driving.

      Our lives were upended, even though my husband moved over to the company that bought them. With my husband being in so high demand he was asked if we would be willing to move cross country.

      The day before my husband's work announced their closing we were talking about building a porch and doing the siding on our forever home. Now, we are leaving our home and moving to a different state. We have lived in our town for thirty years. This is hard.

      During all this stress and turmoil with my husband's work because there is a driver shortage my husband had to work incredibly long hours and he was even required to work when he got Omicron. I was asymptomatic. We are both vaccinated, my husband was required to work because he was vaccinated. It was unbelievable. First he is declared essential then when he does get Covid he is forced to work. I will never ever get over this.

      People yelling at my husband because he is delayed getting them the thing they need because of shortages. Huge abuse, lots of entitlement. Just shocking behavior.

      Lost my beautiful dog this year because vet's are understaffed and I couldn't get her proper care. She was my world. Lost fifteen loved ones to Covid. I just lost my best childhood friend two weeks ago to Covid.

      I work IT and have people yelling at me because they "Need to work from home!" "Why is this system down?" Like it's my fault. I hear this all the time. Sorry entitlement's IT is short staffed too. We can only do so much on a skeleton staff. I am freelance. I cut my hours because I am not going to get yelled at. I had enough.

      Covid has shown me ugliness. That is not freedom. I have not seen much kindness since the pandemic started. Freedom to me is kindness. It is not political. I would love to see decency and sweet in my life again.

      Hope that helps anonymous.

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    5. Thank you for such a well thought out and written response, Safyne. I agree with everything that you said and you said it so eloquently. I feel the same way as you about our freedom. It’s a different world now than it was before Covid.

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  6. I love fried rice and peanut butter cookies, but I don't think I would like the pie. To me that would be overkill.

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    1. Yes, peanut butter pie isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. I think I would like it better without the cool whip, but chocolate pie is so much better.

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  7. Belinda you had a great frugal week. I have made peanut butter pie a couple of times, but mine has a thin coating of melted chocolate on top.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. Oh, that thin chocolate coating sounds great, Jackie. I’ll have to try it sometime.

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  8. What a great week! Thanks for the tips. I'm going to make the peanut butter pie!

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  9. I have bought the red bag chicken but have trouble getting them well cooked without them burning. Last time I bought the they were 4.99 so that price increase is crazy! We can buy 5 pounds of breaded chicken breasts for sandwiches at our salvage grocery for $11.99!

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    Replies
    1. Wow, that is a big price increase, Lana. Good deal at your salvage grocery store. I would be buying from them as well.

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  10. What exactly is red bag chicken? I love chic fil a, so it sounds like something I would like. If I made the peanut butter pie, it would have chocolate on top and no whip.

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    Replies
    1. Aldi sells chicken Patties in a red bag in the freezer section. They are whole chicken breast pieces and are very similar to Chic-fil-A sandwiches. They are really good and make a great sandwich.

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