Looking Back

Photo Credit 

Looking back over the last year there were a lot of changes for us in 2024. 

We lost my Dad in January, so this was the year where both of my parents were no longer with us. To me it’s like an anchor I once had is no longer and realized more than ever that life is short and our time to leave this earth will eventually come too. 

I lost sixty-five pounds in 2024 and got a brand new knee. I wish my parents were here to see the new me as they wanted this for me for many years. 

I continued to get monthly eye injections in 2024 in the effort to save my eyesight, which is working. My diabetes is under control with the weight loss and my last A1C was 4.5, which is considered non-diabetic. If you know someone with diabetes please urge them to get control of their blood sugar as I learned a hard lesson about the damage diabetes can do to your eyes. 

Bailey continued to work from home in 2024 and launched a new embroidery business and one of her creations went viral on TokTok causing some panic during that time, but she mastered it all so well. She’s a hard worker and it shows in her endeavors and all she conquers. 

We lost several of our outside cats this year, three of them in one weekend, so now we have no more cats outside and there won’t be anymore. We moved the two remaining cats indoors where they live happy and content lives. 

Looking forward to 2025, I want to lose the last of the weight I have to lose. I want to get my left knee replaced, and maybe tackle some other issues like my lymphedema.

I thought we had my Dad’s land sold, but I’ve not heard from the buyer. Hopefully it will sell in 2025. 

Financially we held our heads above water and continued to avoid debt like the plague. We were saddened by the hike in grocery prices and pulled out all the stops to save money where we could using the tips and tactics I write about here. 

I hope and pray that 2024 was good for you and 2025 will be even better. Let’s continue to build community with each other and make it one of our best years yet.

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

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

Third & Final Frugal Friday of December 2024

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
There will not be a Frugal Friday post next Friday on December 27th as I prepare for my knee surgery. There will not be any Meal Plan Monday posts either, so this will be my last post of 2024, but I'll be posting again in January. 
I wanted to send a thank you to Arlene for the sweet gift she sent me this week. That was so thoughtful and kind of her,  and I hope she as well as all of you have the merriest of Christmases.
Dinner tonight will be Salmon Patties, Green Beans with Onions, and Sweet Potatoes. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Poverty Meals: Budget Meals for those on a Low Income by Strawberry Moon Homestead. 
Frugal Christmas Homemaking Extreme Budget Ideas for Christmas by Strawberry Moon Homestead
What I've been Reading This Week
Chasing Cupcakes by Elizabeth Benton who also runs a podcast called Primal Potential. 
I hope and pray all of you who celebrate have a very Merry Christmas. With my surgery coming up, my mind is on other things right now as I prepare. I hope you all stay safe and warm and I'll be back before you know it. 

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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Third Week of December 2024

My Frugal Week

This was a week where I was winging dinner everyday, waiting until later in the day to figure out what I was serving. 

On Saturday there was a local ministry giving away free food. We came home with potatoes, sweet potatoes, yogurt, coffee drinks, ginger beer, croissants, cheese, butter, cookies, peaches, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some items. 

On Sunday I worked in the kitchen for a few hours. I peeled and cooked apples in my Instant Pot, peeled all the clementines because they get eaten faster that way, pulled out the produce drawers, washed them in the sink and wiped down the inside of the fridge. 

Also, went through my pantry pulling items we aren't using to donate to the Little Free Pantry here, vacuumed the kitchen, made a crockpot full of soup using up all the little bits from the fridge, made a fresh batch of sweet tea, and made cornbread. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Baked Whitefish with Mustard Glaze, Green Beans with Onions, Salad. 

Taco Tuesday ~ Tacos! Yum!

Wednesday ~ Chicken Polish Sausage, Field Peas & Snaps, Macaroni & Cheese. 

Thursday ~ Salmon, Corn Casserole, Salad. 

Friday ~ Chicken Sausage, Corn Casserole, Butter Beans.

Saturday ~ Baked Fish, Butter Beans, Sweet Potatoes, Deviled Eggs. I used a mustard glaze for the fish, which was the last of the fish I had in the freezer. I still have plenty of canned salmon and tuna fish on hand though. 

Souper Sunday ~ I made a batch of Mexican Chicken Soup and just winged it as far as ingredients using up multiple cans from my pantry and leftovers from our fridge. It turned out really well and we will be having it for dinner again on Monday. 

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

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

Second Frugal Friday of December 2024

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Last Friday I measured the last of the clothes Bailey will have for her shops this year. It’s always good for her taxes to have all the inventory listed by the end of the year. 
We sold a sifting litter box to our garbage man for $10 on Saturday. It had been sitting on the back porch for a couple of weeks, and he expressed interest, so we sold it to him. 
Tuesday was my appointment with the retina specialist where I had injections in both eyes again. I've been going every four weeks, but he said I was doing so well he wants to try six weeks, so we shall see if it works this time.  
Afterwards, Bailey had a mystery shop to see the movie, Wicked, so we went it in the 3D version, which was neat. It's the untold story of the witches of Oz. Elphaba and Glinda forge an unlikely friendship before their lives take different paths after an encounter with the The Wizard of Oz. Part One of a series  ultimately sees them fulfill their destinies as the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda The Good Witch. 
I sold a weighted blanket for Bailey on Facebook Marketplace this week for $30. 
I woke up on Thursday morning and the temperature had gotten really low through the night and my bedroom was 54 degrees, so I turned on some heat to get warm. It felt so good. 
As far as Christmas goes, I'm as ready as I can be, although I am waiting on a couple of gifts in the mail. I'll wrap those as soon as they come. Everything else is wrapped and under the tree. 
As far as food goes, I just need to pick up some chocolate chips for cookies, which we are making to bring to a Christmas gathering. Everything else I already have on hand including a small ham for Christmas dinner. As usual, with just the two of us, we are keeping it very simple. I am not even planning a dessert as we have no desire for one. 
Freebies this Week

The Safe Haven Animal Rescue Program, aka Sharp, group helps people where I live with pet food. Pictured here is a sixteen pound free bag of Hills Science Diet cat food they gave me this week. This bag sells for $32.99 at PetSmart. 

Another Freebie this week was this sample of shampoo and conditioner. 

That is all the news to report from here this week. How was your week? Find any good deals? Ready for Christmas? Only about a dozen days left before it’s here. I hope you had a wonderful 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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week 2 December 2024

My Frugal Week

Last Sunday I made six more gelatin and fruit cups. These were gone by yesterday, so I made eight more for this week.  Some were made using cherry gelatin with blended cottage cheese for protein, and some with banana strawberry gelatin with blended cottage cheese and strawberries.  

We shopped for groceries on Tuesday. We ended up with more food than freezer space, so we took two turkeys out of the freezer upstairs and put them in the freezer downstairs, which was my Dad’s refrigerator.  That freezer was empty, but not now. 

On Saturday I spent time reorganizing the refrigerator upstairs. I made more Chipotle Ranch for Bailey, made deviled eggs, used up all the bowls of chopped onions and peppers into a stir fry for dinner. Cut up all the celery and red peppers in order to have them ready to be eaten, peeled some clementines for easy snacking, put like items together and wiped everything down.

Here is what we had for dinners this past week:

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ BBQ Pork Chops, Roasted Beets, Sweet Potato Fries. 

Tuesday ~ Cheeseburgers and Fries.

Wednesday ~Chicken Teriyaki Kabobs, Vegetable Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice. 

Thursday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads, Sliced Cucumbers & Sugar Snap Peas. 

Fish on Friday ~ Baked Whitefish with a sweet bourbon mustard glaze, Green Beans & Onions, and a salad. 

Saturday ~ Plant Based Chicken & Teriyaki Vegetable Stir Fry. I used multiple bowls and bags of vegetables from the fridge, using them up in the process. I added some grated frozen ginger right off the ginger root, which always elevates this dish to the next level. I made deviled eggs earlier in the day, so I served those as well as sliced cucumbers and clementines. 

Sunday ~ Grilled Chicken, Salads, and Deviled Eggs. 

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

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

First Frugal Friday of December 2024

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
I listed one item on eBay this week and sold two items, which one was another old pocketknife I found while cleaning downstairs. 
On Tuesday we went grocery shopping. First stop was UGO in Chatsworth. Afterwards we headed to Food City to spend our $25 gift card, Ingles, and finally Kroger. 
Ingles had their Borden cheese on sale buy one get one free. We found a package of Chicken Teriyaki Skewers on markdown for $5.99, a can of white corn on markdown for 50 cents, and plant based steak on markdown for $1.49. 

At Food City I found a one pound package of Bison marked down from $9.99 to $4.99. I also picked up Greek yogurt, green olives, hot chocolate, tortillas, and apples. After my gift card I paid $15.50. 
Deals at Kroger include multiple bags of salad on markdown, so we will  be eating a lot of salads in the next week. Other than that we mostly just stocked up on everyday groceries. 
And our best deals came from UGO where we found the large boxes of sugar free Jell-O for 79 cents, which sell for $1.78 at Walmart. I eat them every day, so the savings was tremendous. I bought three cases or 72 boxes in all, which saved me over $70. 
Other deals at UGO include turkey lunchmeat for $1.00, sometimes less, per pack. Quarts of Almond Breeze eggnog priced at 3 for $1.00, egg whites for $1.00 per 32 ounce box, grass fed beef hot dogs for $1.99, boxes of 24 individually wrapped 1 ounce bags of peanuts for $1.00 (unheard of!), and not to mention all the other good deals we were able to purchase. Grocery closeout stores can really help families save money on their grocery budgets. 
Wednesday & Thursday were spent at home. Our Christmas tree is up, the house is decorated and the presents are wrapped. We’ve already started watching some Christmas movies and watched The Family Stone this week. 
It’s cold here, around 26 degrees most mornings, so we have our draft dodgers in place by the doors and are keeping warm. We only have heat on in the bathroom for now. 
How are you doing? Getting all your Christmas doings done? I’m not a fan of these shorter days with it getting dark around 5 p.m., but they won’t last too long. 
I hope and pray you’ve had a wonderful 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.

BelindaHomemaker at HeartMortgage & Debt Free~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ First Week December 2024

 My Frugal Week

What didn't get eaten of our Thanksgiving leftovers were put into the freezer over the weekend to save for another day.

What’s for Dinner

Meatless Monday ~ Spaghetti & Meatballs. I took the meatballs in sauce out of the freezer, which had been saved from another meal. I baked a spaghetti squash and used it as the noodles for the meatballs. We've been trying to stay low carb and steering away from sugar, flour and white pasta and white rice, so spaghetti squash is a good alternative for the pasta. 

I served this with steamed carrots for the vegetable and some garlic bread on the side for those who wanted some.

Taco Tuesday ~ Grilled Chicken Taco Salad. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Burrito Bowls.  

Thursday ~ Thanksgiving Dinner of Turkey Breast, Dressing, Green Beans with Onions, and Deviled Eggs. 

Friday ~ Leftovers

Saturday ~ We had our family get together for Thanksgiving on Saturday. I made Southern Spoonbread and a chocolate cake to bring. Other dishes served were turkey, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, dressing, and several desserts. 

Sunday ~ Baked Fish, Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts. 

What’s been on the menu in your home this past week?

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