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Friday, October 28, 2022

Fourth Frugal Friday of October 2022


Welcome to Friday! 

Here is a picture of the view from our deck. The fall colors are beautiful this year. 


Quote of the Week

~ Mother Nature has the best box of crayons ~

My Frugal Week

Saturday was laundry day. I hadn’t done any in over two weeks, so I had my work cut out for me. By the end of the day I had three loads washed, dried, folded and put away. 


This is a tip I learned from my Mom back when I was growing up. We used Comet in the green can to scrub sinks with and Mom would take the label off from the holes on top of the can and cover half of them up with the same label. This way we would only use about half as much cleaner. 

Joy of the Week

As a surprise to me, Bailey had an Aldi order delivered to our house from Instacart! They’ve just started delivering to our home from Aldi, Kroger, Sam's Club and some other stores. I’m both thrilled and shocked! It was definitely my joy of the week. Now we can use this service instead of our other more expensive delivery service. 

Photo of the Week

My Christmas cactus is blooming again

Savings of the Week

One - two pound bag of carrots at Aldi is $2.09 while two - fifteen ounce cans are 69 cents each or $1.38. If you are needing to be careful with your grocery spending, this is one way to save a little bit of money. 

Question of the Week

What ways are you finding to save money on food?

Avoiding Spending

We stayed home Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and spent no money.

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

This week I cut up fresh onions for the taco salad, but didn’t use it all, so I placed it into the freezer to save for another day. 

No matter how much is left over from a meal, I will save it. For example, I had a small amount, about two tablespoons, of taco meat leftover. I saved that and added it to the eggs for a breakfast burrito the next day. 

While watching a Frugal Queen video on YouTube she mentioned that she is no longer centering her meals around meat, but rather around carbohydrates because of the cost of meat. She is also combining pork with beef as the beef is so expensive in France right now. She has a lot of valuable tips in her YouTube videos on stretching food if you’re interested. 

This week I made a batch of chili because I had a variety of beans and tomato products in my pantry and I wanted to use them up.  I used the onions I stashed in the freezer earlier in the week and a combination of canned and fresh tomatoes.   All I needed was some ground beef, which we bought from Aldi for $3.99 per pound. This is perfect chili weather too.

Another thing I did this week was to cook a ten pound bag of chicken leg quarters that was given to us. I’m not a fan of dark meat, but that doesn’t matter right now with the price of groceries. We are going to use this up in ways that we find palatable and be grateful we have food right now. 

Even if you’re poor in the United States you still have abundance when compared to most people in the world. This year I have seen so much need in our community where people need food. The Little Free Pantry/Blessing Boxes empty out daily. This makes me extremely grateful and blessed for the food we have

Meals This Week

Taco Salads
Tacos
Pork, Green Beans & Onions, Salad
Pork, Roasted Potatoes, Eggplant
Chicken, Salads, Broccoli, Strawberries 
Chili
Chili Tacos

Saving Money YouTube Videos

Frugal Queen: Cost of Living Crisis! Will we be able to afford food? ~ Jane, aka Frugal Queen, gives a frank talk about food and how people may have to eat differently in these hard times. 

Saving on Entertainment

It’s the time of year where we watch Harry Potter films. Every year on her birthday, Bailey requests we watch all eight movies, which takes us a few weeks. Right now we are starting the seventh film, so we are almost done for another year. 

Freebies


I had an appointment with the dermatologist on Thursday. While I was there they gave me three free samples of All laundry detergent. Each pouch will do three or more loads. They also gave me the cherry dum-dum and a prescription for shampoo, which didn’t cost me anything thanks to my insurance. 

One of my friends also gave us two cans of organic garbanzo beans and one can of soup. 


Thank you for dropping by my frugal blog, you are always welcome here. Remember to pay yourself first and track your spending. Let us know how you’ve been doing this week in the comment section. 

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



24 comments:

  1. All Free and Clear is what I use. If each pouch will do three loads, I could use them for at least nine loads. But, I don't dig ditches.

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    Replies
    1. That’s what I was thinking, that we could do nine loads with these.

      Delete
  2. What a beautiful view you have. God's country! Your Christmas cactus is sure pretty, We all need to look for new ways to expend our food prep and we need to be flexible. Life changes and we have to change with it - or do without. I am not a change fan - but will do what I need to, to survive!
    Have a great weekend.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cheryl. I’m not a big fan of change either, but like you will do what we need to do to get through.

      Delete
  3. Looks like another good week for you girls. My niece uses Aldi delivery and loves it. I live in the boonies, so no one delivers to us. (Except For Amazon lol) we buy the 10 lb bags of chicken leg quarters to make dog food. They are on sale this week for .57 cents a lb, so I hope to stock up.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Penny. That is a great idea to use the chicken leg quarters for dog food. I did sneak a piece to one of our cats. 😂

      Amazon for the win! We used them a lot when the pandemic first started. Target too, but not as much nowadays.

      I hope you have a good weekend. 😊

      Delete
  4. That anonymous was me, Little Penpen

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  5. The view from your deck is beautiful! The leaves have been so pretty this year. I'm hoping we can take a drive along the Blue Ridge parkway this weekend before all the leaves fall.
    So glad you were able to get an Aldi delivery. That is so sweet of Bailey to schedule one.
    I am trying to use up foods, but that makes some eclectic meals sometimes. :D We bought 1/4 cow last year, so we are down to the last bits. I actually fixed oxtail stew which was a new one for me, but it turned out pretty tasty. Now to make some soup with the soup bones.
    Hope you have a great weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kathy. I love the Blue Ridge Parkway! Have you ever seen the episode of the Waltons when they were building the Parkway and members of his pioneer family had to move? It’s a great episode.

      The meals can get eclectic can’t they when using up food? 😂 we’ve had some interesting dinners, but full tummies, so I won’t complain a bit.

      I hope you have a great weekend too.

      Delete
    2. Oh I remember that Walton's episode. I felt so sorry for those old people having to leave their land and their way of life.

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    3. Yes, that’s the one, Kathy. It’s one of my favorite episodes.

      Delete
  6. That's just gorgeous, Belinda. I had a lovely river walk this morning. Colors almost gone but a few trees held on. I too am so grateful for what we have. I'm trying to get creative with humble ingredients and enjoy when there is success.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Sam. Your walk sounds lovely. This week was the best color here. Getting creative really helps in this scenario. 😊

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  7. Hi Belinda! That Comet trick is an oldie but goodie! 😀 My mom taught it to me too and I’ve been doing it forever! (I’m 67. Ha!) Your view is quite beautiful. Thanks for your blog—I enjoy reading it. 👋🏻 Judy in Anaheim, CA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Judy.

      I love that your Mom taught you that trick with the Comet too. I was cleaning the sink this week and thought I need to share this. I’m glad you enjoy reading/visiting my blog.

      Hope you have a wonderful weekend. 😊

      Delete
  8. My Mom did the same with Comet. I use SOS pads and cut them in half before using them.

    Stretching our food and meals as much as we possibly can. Eating a few more meatless meals a week (using fish or no meat at all). I am also saving all scraps because they can be made into something delicious.

    God bless.

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    Replies
    1. Such a good use of your resources, Jackie. I also cut scouring pads in half to stretch them out too. 😊

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  9. You don't have to travel for a beautiful view. You are blessed for sure!

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  10. Your view is so gorgeous! And, happy belated birthday to Bailey (just catching up.)

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  11. I love your view. I would never ever leave with a view like that. :) I love your Christmas Cactus.

    Saving money on groceries? I made sure I built a big pantry. I can always rotate and not run out of staples. For example I always keep five cans of refried beans on hand. If I use two for the week then I will buy two and not have the extra expense of five.
    I have such bad food allergies I need to eat simple and that does truly help on grocery expenses.

    I love Aldi's InstantCart too. I thought with rising grocery prices that delivery should be limited. I shopped at WalMart last night and the employees acted like the customers who were shopping were in their way and they were so rude. One of the employees was rude to a veteran in a wheel chair. My husband needed to get a locked item on one of the shelves and the lady got an attitude with him. When I paid for two college boys groceries. They were having legitimate trouble with their card she imploded. I told my husband after we left that delivery was worth it not to deal with rude employees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you!

      I’ve noticed the same thing about the Walmart employees. They leave those big carts In the aisle and then go somewhere else to shop leaving them in the way. Ugh

      Having a great big pantry is the way to go. What kind of recipes do you use the refried beans for, Safyne? I have one I use for bean and cheese enchiladas.

      It’s always great to hear from you.

      Delete

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