Friday, September 13, 2024

Second Frugal Friday of September 2024

   

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 

Quote of the Week
In a financially responsible home, no expense is sacred and are all subject to closer scrutiny. ~ Barbara Garrett
My Frugal Week


Last Thursday morning I came out of the house to feed the cats and looked down in the moat and there was a bear in the yard. He saw me about the same time I saw him and this is a picture of him retreating. Life is always an adventure in the woods.

Autumn is definitely in the air as temperatures here are down a bit. The morning temperature on Monday was hovering around 50 degrees and I was chilly when I woke up that morning. I know we will still have hot weather for another month or so, but Fall is definitely around the corner. 

We received a check for $209 from the consignment sale just for stuff we had hanging around here that we no longer needed. There is another sale coming up at the end of September that we are gathering for stuff to sell. Here are the details if you are local to here: Grown Zone

Other frugal things we did this week include:

- Line dried several clothing items on racks rather than run the dryer. 
- Cancelled one subscription to avoid a monthly charge.

Saving on Electricity 


This is a screen shot of our electric usage over the last week. On Friday, September 6th I was able to turn the air off and keep it off for the majority of the day. There is a big difference between that day and the day before on Thursday, which was a laundry day. Turning off the ac makes a big difference in our electric bill. 

Fads ~ Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

Fads come and go, and in the end, thrift stores and yard sales will be flooded with items someone just had to have at one point.  We regularly see bread machines, blender ball cups, clothes, shoes, and kitchen storage containers on a regular basis.  

Bailey has just returned from the consignment sale and she made the comment that there were a lot of Stanley like cups for sale this time. They have been all the rage since before Christmas. And like other fads, they will die out soon. I didn't buy myself a Stanley cup, but just kept using the reliable reusable cup I've aways used. 

Freebies


On Friday I had an appointment and there was a representative from Humana there giving free fresh food to everyone. She gave me four potatoes, two apples, two oranges, and one onion. Her main objective was selling insurance, but she wasn't pushy at all, and I thought that was so thoughtful.  

I also had  friend give me three zucchini, seven ears of corn, and a watermelon out of her garden this week. 

I received a brown paper grocery bag filled with brown grocery bags, which I love to line my garbage can with. This is how my Mom lined her garbage can back in the day, and it always reminds me of her. 

Photo of the Week


Brand name companies do in fact make some store brand items. Check out this photo from a can of Aldi tomatoes where the label is falling off and you'll see the name Red Gold, which I consider a fancier name brand. Pretty neat in my book. 

And in the news this week, Consumer Reports has the article, Grocers are adding more private labels to store shelves, cutting food costs.  This article states that the following store brands and which name brand companies produce them. 

Costco’s Kirkland Tuna is made by none other than Bumblebee Tuna, Walmart’s Great Value Canned Vegetables are sourced from suppliers like Del Monte, Green Giant, and Libby’s. ALDI’s Millville Cinnamon Crunch Squares are made by General Mills, which also makes Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Publix Brand Deli Meats are made by various meat suppliers, including Boar’s Head and Hormel, Kroger Brand Cereals are manufactured by General Mills and Kellogg’s, and finally, Food Lion Brand Coffee is manufactured by Kraft Heinz and J.M. Smucker Company.
Savings of the Week


This week I used one of my five Circle K rewards to take 25 cents off a gallon of gas and ended up paying $2.33 per gallon. 

Saving Money YouTube Videos

Cathy from The Cheapskates Club recently interviewed Wendy Gower who runs the My Abundant Life blog. In this video she discusses how she feeds her family for $37.50 per week.  

What I've been Reading This Week

How This Melbourne Couple Keeps Their Grocery Bill to Just $37 a Week

The Bumpy Budget ~ Grandma Donna talks about the cost of living increases today and how some of her generation are having to go back to work in retirement. The comment section has good tips to read as well. 


How was your week?  

Did you manage your home, pantry or garden well this week?  

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
Homemaker at Heart
Mortgage & Debt Free
~ Living within our Means ~
My Linktree

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


20 comments:

  1. (Little Penpen) happy Friday! Funny about the Stanley cups. Can you imagine the money they’ve made??? Plus from all the accessories that can be bought for them??? Absolutely crazy!!

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    Replies
    1. Happy Friday to you too, Penny. Yes on the Stanley cups! They've made a small fortune I'm sure.

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  2. Red Gold is a great IN company - I have always supported them. Good to know on the Aldi tomatoes! Thanks for that list. I her so many people say they won't do off brands - yet so many are the same!!
    Great on all the free produce.
    Have a lovely weekend

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Cheryl.

      I thought that was pretty neat about the Aldi and Red Gold. It's good to know they are made in the Hoosier state, which makes me want to support them even more.

      I hope you also have a lovely weekend.

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  3. I worked my summers in college at a food manufacturing plant. It has further shaped my attitude that brand doesn't matter. We packed a lot of different brands and sometimes the difference was a smaller package or a quality control person would weigh the item and determine if it was "acceptible" for the brand. BUT most of the time they just changed the label.

    Someday we'll talk about edible dirt.

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    Replies
    1. Oh goodness, edible dirt. I can't wait. :)

      Your experience is further proof that food manufacturers just "change the label", I love it!

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  4. Hi Belinda! I especially loved this post, it was packed with all kinds of information! When you were talking about using brown paper bags to line your trash cans this reminded me of when I was growing up we used paper bags to put our garbage in and then took the paper bags and put them in our metal trash cans and the garbage men would actually come in our yard and pick up the cans and take them to the trash truck to dump them. That's all I remember my family using back in the late 60's and 70's. We didn't have much money so I'm sure that's all we could afford. I remember my dad saying he wasn't going to use plastic bags to "gift wrap" our garbage! Boy how things have changed. Another thing you mentioned was about the name brand companies making the generic and off brand foods. I have been telling this to people for years but never had the proof to show them. The article that you referenced is facinating. I'm a big believer in using the generic and store brands. They are almost always of good quality. And you can save quite a bit of money using them. Also, I love Grandma Donna! I have been a follower of her blog for years. I love her wisdom. Our weather is starting to cool here too which I love! The next few days are going to be in the low 80's and then next week we are going to get some rain and it will be in the 70's. We really need the rain, it's getting really dry. You and Bailey have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grandma Donna has the best blog! I spent several afternoons there this week catching up with her. I just love the brown paper grocery bags. If we go to Whole Foods I won't bring my reusable bags as I want their paper bags. That is what we used in the 70s too. How nice that your garbage men would come in your yard to get the cans to dump them. I love that.

      I'm quite satisfied with store brands that we've tried over the years. I would rather save money by using them.

      I hope you get your much needed rain! We are supposed to get some too, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
      I hope you have a great weekend too.

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  5. Great has price! We only use one tank per month so we never know what price it will be but Sam's is always our best price. My big money saving project was making a list of every main meal I can make from what I have on hand. It was a whopping 75 meals! I saw that eggs had made a huge price jump and we were able to get six 18 packs for 3.29 each with a long date. Walmart was 5.17. What in the world is going on now with eggs?

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    Replies
    1. I'm not sure why egg prices are up right now, I heard it was salmonella, but not sure. The cost o the 60 egg carton at Walmart was up to $18 plus change, which is so high.

      75 meals is amazing! You are doing a great job. Good going on using only one tank of gas per month too. I'm working on that as well by not going out as much as I usually do.

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  6. Hi Belinda!
    My son has bears on his property...scares me to death! I was never interested in purchasing a Stanley cup...I don't understand why they're so popular. My parents always used paper grocery bags as garbage bags in the 1960's and 1970's and the garbage men would pick up the garbage from our backyard. I also used paper bags to cover my schoolbooks. Thanks for sharing about Grandma Donna...I had never heard of her blog. Her article, The Bumpy Budget, confirmed everything I've been thinking about for when my husband retires in 7 years. I pray that neither of us have to go back to work, but it's scary thinking about the future when things are so difficult to afford now! I try to do a lot of the things my mom did when I was growing up...cooking from scratch, hanging clothes instead of using the dryer and buying store brands instead of name brands. It's not much, but it does save a little money. Enjoy your weekend! Janel in NJ

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Janel. I read the article on Grandma Donn's blog about the Bumpy Budget too and had the same thought. It would be unfortunate that retirees have to return to work because of the high cost of living these days. We also used paper bags to cover our books back then. It's a small world. I hope you enjoy your weekend too. :)

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  7. My first thought would be to scream if I saw a bear but I guess that is not good. The bear sightings are becoming more common where my MIL lives in KY. I think we are too much in their home space and they don't know where to go. Have a good week!

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    1. I agree, Vickie. We are in their space and they are just looking for food. We live in the Cherokee National Forest, so they are here regularly. Screaming is allowed. LOL Usually they will run off if they see me, which is good. I hope you have a good week too.

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  8. Neat picture of the bear, but he was a little too close for comfort.
    Great job with the electricity savings; that is quite a difference with the a/c. How neat about the aldi tomatoes and other brands. I'm not too brand loyal, I usually buy whatever is on sale or cheapest. I do buy cascade or finish dishwashing since we have hard water, and other brands don't seem to work as well.
    We have been passing a cold around this week, and now it's my turn. ugh, not fun at all. We are on countdown to my son's wedding in october, so not the best time to get sick.
    Hope you have a great weekend and stay well.

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    1. Thank you, Kathy. I agree with you on the bear. I like when I don't see them. Oh no! I hope you're feeling better soon and all the sickness clears out before your son's wedding. (How exciting!)

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  9. I had to look up what a Stanley cup was. LOL.
    I use brown paper bags for gift wrapping.

    That bear! Don’t they harm cats and dogs?

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    1. LOL, Nil. Stanley cups are all the rage right now and expensive! I love brown paper bags for gift wrap. Tied with baker's string, they are so pretty.

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  10. Just catching up now on blog reading. When I first heard of the Stanley cup fad, I couldn't figure out why so many people were going crazy over hockey!!!

    ReplyDelete

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