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Friday, January 13, 2023

Second Frugal Friday of January 2023


Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

Quote of the Week

The only time you look in your neighbors basket is to make sure they have enough. 

Price of Gas 

$2.89 ~ Creeping back up. 😢 

My Frugal Week

Tired of paying such high prices for groceries, I decided to do some research online to look for cheaper prices. Through an Internet search I located Gordon Food Service Store, which is a wholesale food service center and is open to the public. 

On Sunday we drove to their store located at 1817 Broad Street in downtown Chattanooga. They also have other locations in some states. 

Some of the prices were terrific, some of them were no better than the regular grocery stores right now, but it was definitely worth the trip. 


Here are some of the best deals we picked up:

5 pound bags of cheddar cheese for $8.00
Ground Beef for $1.99 a pound
Ground. Chuck $2.49 a pound
Chicken Breasts for $1.49 a pound ($1.09 a pound in the 40 pound box)
3 pound bags of onions 99 cents
#10 can (105 ounces) Black Olives $12.99

We were thrilled to find such a great resource and will definitely go back again with those good prices. 

Speaking of saving money on food, Donna Freeman, who blogs over at Surviving and Thriving, recently wrote an article about How to Beat High Food Costs at ‘Salvage’ Grocery Stores for Money Talks News. She interviewed several experts on the subject of saving money on groceries, including myself, and wrote an excellent article on the subject. I hope you get a chance to read it. 

Freebies

This was the week for freebies. On Sunday Bailey went to the monthly community trading post where donations are brought and traded for free. She brought several things to donate and received several items in return. She picked up a five pound bag of potatoes, a bottle of Dawn, a bag of onions, grape tomatoes, aluminum foil, three cookbooks, Italian seasoning, dental floss, cupcake liners, and a new Dash mini waffle maker. 

Photo of the Week

This week we had Mom’s wheelchair on the back porch to be picked up by the local People Helping People store. Polka Dot and Simba were sure to make good use of it during nap time while waiting for it to be picked up. 


Avoiding Spending

There was NO avoiding spending here this week as I had some work done on my car. New tires, a front end alignment, one new headlight, and an oil change. Having a safe, dependable car is worth every penny for the peace of mind it brings. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen

There was no eating out this week, which has become the norm around here since the pandemic started. 

Meals This Week

All meals are served with either salad or vegetables and may not always be listed here. 

* If you see a dinner in bold print that means we had it more than once this week.

Marinated & Grilled Chicken Tenders, Soup Beans, Broccoli
Baked Chicken, Potato Salad, Green Beans with Onions. 
Hamburgers with Cheese, Potato Salad, Corn on the Cob.
Homemade Pizza for Movie Night.
Dirty Rice with Polish Sausage, Corn on the Cob, Garlic Bread. 
Egg Roll in a Bowl, Rice, Mixed Vegetables. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos

https://youtu.be/wAPH8D2AL8c

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

~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~
Proverbs 31:27



27 comments:

  1. You had some really good wins at that store- the cheese price! I've been buy short dated at a creamery by my daughter's house, $2 a pound for cheese curds, but $8 for 5 pounds is fabulous. Thank you again for the baked rice and beans recipe. Not only did we eat well the first night I made, leftovers were part of second meal, plus lunches.

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    1. Thank you, Sam. It was a good week here. I’m so glad you enjoyed the baked rice and beans. It does make enough for leftovers. 😊

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  2. You got some nice deals. Last time I went to GFS they were very expensive. May check them again. The kitties look so sweet!!!!!!

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    1. Thank you, Cheryl. We were surprised by the prices. I hope you have a great weekend.

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  3. The price of gas here in Western PA is $3.49 at our Sam's club. They had the nerve to raise the gas tax this month also. There isn't too many deals around here.

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    1. Ouch, Cheryl. That has to hurt in the pocketbook. I wish there were more food deals where you live.

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  4. We have five salvage stores here and they save us a ton of money. Last week we bought 4 count boxes of Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwiches for $1 a box along with other items. Hubby has to go run an errand this morning and I am watching the Facebook page of one of them to see their bread delivery come in so he can stop for Thomas English muffins and bagels for $1 a package. You have to be quick to get the bread! We have a US Chef store that has some great deals if you look just like the one you mentioned.

    Keeping vehicles in good order is so important these days. Our son is getting a company car and will sell his four year old Nissan for what he paid for it new. That is just crazy!

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    1. Oh my gosh, what great deals Lana! We really like Jimmy Dean’s sausage. I would definitely buy those for 25 cents each, what a bargain!

      Good deal on your son selling his car for what he paid for it new. That’s great! Sounds like you’ve had a good week too. 😊

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  5. It's great that you found a Food Service store, you got some great deals! Sometimes they are called a Restaurant Supply store and people don't realize that they are open to the public. We have US Chef Supply, they also have a website so you can see what they have and compare prices easily. Gas here in Washington State is $3.55 in my area. I found an app/website called Gas Buddy that you can find all the prices for local gas stations. I usually travel to 2 different towns, and that lets me decide where to gas up. No salvage stores here. The monthly Community Trading Post sounds really interesting. There is a local facebook plant swap group here that has monthly meetups, it seems to be mostly outdoor/vegetable garden plants.

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    1. Thank you, Tami. Your US Chef Supply store sounds like a good place to find some bargains too. Gas is more expensive where you live, but it’s good to use Gas Buddy to help lower the cost. My daughter would love your plant swap meetings. She loves to yard sale and thrift, so that would be right up her alley.

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  6. Currently doing a no spend January. So far I've only spent money on groceries, gas, 2 planned gifts I put on the allowable list and professional dev. for my career. I definitely needed a reset and the start of the new year was the perfect time. We're doing a lot of eating out of the freezer and pantry to reduce the grocery spending as well and taking leftovers for lunch. Our gas is $2.99; it's been creeping up here too.

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    1. Sounds like you’re doing an excellent job on your no spend January, Stacie. I agree a reset is what we all need at times. So many people are doing the no spend January. I’ve been reading about it in multiple blogs and Facebook groups. I hope yours is very successful. 😊

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  7. Great buys at that store!! Wish we had shops like that here, but I make do. Gas is creeping up here and soon will be back up to what it was well before Christmas.

    There are times I wished I lived in a bigger center (just over 11K people in my city) for better shopping deals, but then when I look out my front window over the valley and can see empty land and sky for miles, I am more than content to be where we are for now.

    God bless.

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    1. I’m right there with you, Jackie. We have 15 acres here and cannot see the neighbors from the house and I love that. I’m not sure I could go back to living with neighbors right next door. We do have to do some driving to get to the deals, but I’m ok with that. 😊

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  8. Potato salad is one of my favorites, and your menu is making me want some! I love the idea of the trading post. What a cool thing for your community to have. Great work on your frugal wins this week!

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    1. Thank you, I love potato salad too. I made a carrot raisin salad for this weekend and I really like it too. The trading post is such a great resource, every community needs to do one.

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  9. (Little Penpen) oh the community trading post sounds like fun! I would be there every time it was held if I could! I can tell we haven’t had to buy many groceries since the holidays. We bought a lot of extra food when all the family was here, and a lot didn’t get used. It’s been nice to search the freezer and pantry to see what’s next. Haha! I’m doing some hand sewing these days, using only fabric and patterns I already have. I am weak when it comes to buying patterns. But I’m trying to stop!!

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    1. LOL, I know it hard to not buy something you love like the patterns. Sounds so nice not having to go buy groceries because you have good holiday food left from Christmas. Ours was all gone last week, so I had to start cooking new food again. LOL

      We make sure not to miss the trading post. Last time I even got some Pioneer Woman plates, which I forgot to mention. 😊

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  10. I would have left that store loaded with ground chuck and chicken!
    I love watching June's videos. She inspires me to cook out of the box sometimes.

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    1. I would have bought even more but I was concerned about the lack of freezer space.

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  11. that was a super price on the cheese, well done!

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  12. Thanks for the share, ma'am! And I sure wish we had as many shopping options as you do.

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    1. You’re very welcome, Donna. I think the same thing about other shopping options when I read other peoples blogs. 😂

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  13. Practical Parsimony commented on "Third Frugal Friday of January 2023"
    Yesterday
    None of the bold comments seem to be clickable. What gives?

    ****************************

    Hmm…do you mean under the dinners? Those are not clickable, but the others in blue should be. Let me know which one you would like to go to and I’ll help you out. 😊

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  14. Hi Belinda! I too am so tired of paying $8 for a dozen eggs...I have a Costco membership and so far it's been saving me so much money. Doing monthly shopping helps too because I can really control the spending and also the gas expense is much lower. Good for you for continuing your frugal journey! ♥

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    1. Thank you, Rain. Sounds like a Costco membership is perfect for you. I’ve always wanted to try one, but so far haven’t done that yet.

      Delete

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