Fourth & Final Frugal Friday of November 2024

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!

My Frugal Week
This week I worked on wrapping and packaging Christmas presents.  I figure if I do a few things here and there every few days it won't feel rushed when the time comes. On Saturday I packaged mini marshmallows into cups and papers and tied with pretty ribbons to include in the hot chocolate/mug packages I'm making. 
Saturday also had me washing laundry. I tried on my winter coat from last winter and it is way too big for me now, so I washed it and gave it to Bailey to resell. I also sorted and washed the kitchen laundry afterwards. Not buying paper products for the kitchen saves us a lot of money each year. 
I took the turkey breast out of the freezer on Monday to be thawing in order to cook it for Thursday, Thanksgiving Day. I made cornbread for the dressing on Wednesday.
I earned $12.34 from Amazon this week, which is for items my readers buy when using my link. 
Hulu is being offered right now for 99 cents per month and it's the one streaming service where I can watch The Conners, so I signed up for that. 
Thanksgiving was spent at home with just Bailey and me. We had a simple dinner of turkey breast, dressing, and green beans with onions, which was delicious and filling. 
There is no need for us to spend a lot of money on food as we don’t eat that much to begin with and there is no need to spend extra money for special food. If there were more people here, I might consider that, but this works for us. We will be going to spend time with family on Saturday. I’ll be bringing a spoon bread corn casserole and chocolate cake. 
In The News 
Disclaimer: This is not meant to start a political discussion, but rather to let my readers know about a possible price increase in order that they can take steps to stock up before that happens.  
Fox News is reporting that, "Trump says he will issue executive order to charge Canada, Mexico 25% tariff on goods upon taking office".

If you order your pet medications from Canada  in order to save money like we do, you may want to buy them before Trump takes office in January. 
And on that note, egg prices are going to surge once again as Avian flu has reared its ugly head again. Avian Flu has been found in Tennessee too in Gibson County in western Tennessee.
Freebies
The Gem Theater in Calhoun, Georgia is showing free Christmas movies for the holidays. Here is the schedule: Gem Theater 
We'll be going to the Christmas Tree Lighting in Dalton on Friday evening as well as putting our own Christmas tree up at home and decorating the house for the holidays. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Eleven Christmas Gift Ideas on a Budget and Awesome Packaging Ideas ~ I really liked several of her ideas, especially for packaging. She used a leftover Cheez-It box as the base of one of her Christmas baskets, so she has some really good frugal ideas here.  
Saving Money on Entertainment
Women of The Hills ~ 3 Cultures of Appalachia ~ This is available to watch for free on YouTube. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Azure Canning Company Holiday Gift in a Jar Recipes ~ Some really good ideas for Christmas gifts can be found here. 

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

Belinda’s Peanut Butter Banana Bake

Belinda’s Peanut Butter Banana Bake

Today I tweaked the recipe that I posted yesterday from Nourish & Thrive Amy from TikTok, which I did to lower the calories.

I switched out the one ounce of peanut butter to two tablespoons of powdered peanut butter, which lowered the calorie content by 134 calories from 512 to 344 for the entire mini loaf.

I also made the switch to two tablespoons of the wheat germ to make it easier to measure.

I also added two tablespoons of vanilla protein powder for an extra 34 calories, which added an additional five grams of protein, making the entire loaf twenty-five grams of protein.

This recipe produces a very moist loaf of bread. 

This recipe isn’t very sweet since there is no sugar, but if you make sure your bananas are really ripe that will help with the sweetness.

Here is the tweaked recipe, if you're interested:

Belinda's Peanut Butter Banana Bake

Ingredients:

6 ounces ripe banana
1 egg
2 tablespoons powdered peanut butter

2 tablespoons  wheat germ

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Mash banana and add egg. 
Mix well.
Add all other ingredients. 
Mix well. 
Spray a small loaf pan to prevent sticking or use parchment paper.
Pour batter into the mini loaf pan.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

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

Menu Plan Monday ~ Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen

My Frugal Week

Through several deals this week we now have three whole turkeys and two turkey breasts in our freezer. I went to a community giveaway on Sunday because they were giving away ingredients to make a Thanksgiving meal along with a $25 gift card to Food City. I thought that was pretty neat. 

We ate a lot of chicken this past week as you'll see when you look at our menu. I made soup twice this week and put the remaining soup into individual bowls for the freezer. 

Recipe of the Week

Peanut Butter Banana Bake

This is a recipe from Nourish & Thrive Amy from TikTok. She lost 100 pounds eating this no sugar/no flour recipe for breakfast every day. She makes the recipe into cookies or loaves. There is a photo of the loaf I made this morning below the recipe.

I’m going to be tweaking the recipe to try and lower the calorie content. She uses real peanut butter and I’m going to try it with powdered peanut butter, which is lower in calories. 

This recipe isn’t very sweet since there is no sugar and adding a date or two to the batter may help with that. Of course, if you make sure your bananas are really ripe that will help with the sweetness. The ones I used were brown spotted, but not super ripe. 

Ingredients:

6 ounces ripe banana

1 egg

1 ounce no sugar peanut butter

1 ounce wheat germ

⅛ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Mash banana and add egg. 

Mix well.

Add all other ingredients. 

Mix well. 

Spray a small loaf pan to prevent sticking or use parchment paper.

Pour batter into the mini loaf pan.

Bake in a 375 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

Photo of the Week

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken Taco Salad

Taco Tuesday ~ Chicken Enchilada Soup

Wednesday ~ Chicken, Corn on the Cob, Salad. 

Thursday ~ Chicken Burrito Bowls, Salad

Friday ~ Baked Potato  - Bailey was gone to her book club, so I had a simple dinner at home and topped it with cheddar cheese and black olives. 

Saturday ~ Bean & Cheese Enchiladas  - I turned these two gifted to us cans into a Bean & Cheese Enchilada bake for dinner. We had the leftovers for lunch on Sunday. 

Souper Sunday ~ Chicken Enchilada Soup

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

Frugal Friday ~ Third Frugal Friday of November 2024

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
My Frugal Week
Bailey and I went to a yard sale in East Ridge last Saturday. It is a monthly event held for the animal clinic there. I picked up three shirts for myself with long sleeves. I also picked up an elevated food bowl for the cats as I’m tired of cleaning up after they’ve tipped their food bowl over. 
Our washer stopped working on Sunday evening, so I had a repairman come out on Monday afternoon. Turns out the lid release switch went bad, so he replaced it for $175, which included the $69 service fee. He said we had a good machine and not to get rid of it as the ones made today aren’t made to last. 
I received $106 from Blogger this week for my blog for the past few months. I’m going to use part of it to get an oil change for my car. I will use a coupon from the oil change place website to save 50% off an oil change as their Black Friday special. I’ll wait until I have other errands to run and not make a special trip. 
It’s turned into chilly weather here, so I’m enjoying a cup of hot peppermint tea here this morning to take the edge off the chill. I’m also wearing socks, shoes, long pants, and a long sleeve shirt and do not have any heat on yet. I’m measuring clothes for Bailey today, so a sit down job means I’ll be colder than usual. 
I had four pocketknives that were given to my Dad years ago and I finally listed them as a lot on eBay for $19.95 this week. Imagine my surprise when the bidding reached $94.00. My Buy It Now price was only set at $60.00, so this was a pleasant surprise. 
Freebies
On Wednesday I had an appointment and ended up getting some free samples, which included travel size shampoo, soap, razor, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving cream, and body wash. 
Savings of the Week

Bailey found this stick vacuum at the thrift store the other day. It didn’t work, but she figured it just needed a good cleaning and she was right. She brought it home and took the filter apart, gave it a good scrubbing and it works wonderfully. 
We have done more vacuuming this week than ever because it’s so lightweight and easy to use. The best part? This particular vacuum sells for $160 on Amazon, but she only paid $20 for it. 
Deal of the Week
Since I was running errands on Wednesday I stopped in at Walmart and snagged two more of their cold rotisserie chickens for $3.97 each. I’m loving the price on these and how much chicken I can get from them and for a good price. Bailey found two last week marked down to $2.00, which was also an even better deal, but I’m finding them more in the meat department cold for less than a hot chicken more so than cold on mark down. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Prepper Princess discusses when items get too high, you’ll refuse to pay the price. For example, when chicken is priced at $5 per pound, she refuses to buy it, which is how I feel about beef prices. I simply will not buy beef when it is so expensive right now. Even if other people are willing to pay those prices we need to decide if we are willing. 
Frugal Queen shares her views on Frugal Money saving advice that you probably won’t like. Such as buying Christmas gifts for people you hardly know. 
Kate Kaden gives tips on living below your means. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
I’ve been watching Nurse Jackie this week through our free streaming service this week. I saw it being played on TikTok and decided to try it out. I’ve been enjoying Jackie and how she relates to her family, friends, coworkers and patients. She is very forgiving and accepts them where they are in life.
That’s all the news I have to report from here this week. How has your week been?

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

My Frugal Week

On Sunday we did some cleaning out and rearranging of stuff in several areas in our home. I moved some canned goods to make room for other things and Bailey was getting rid of a shopping cart we bought years ago at a yard sale. 

I decided to snag the shopping cart and use it to store my tomato products. Now I can drive this cart into my pantry and pull it out as needed. 

My inventory includes:

- 14 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

- 6 (28 ounce) cans of tomatoes

- 4 cans tomato paste

- 10 (14.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce

- 14 (14.5 ounce) cans spaghetti/pasta sauce

Hopefully this will be enough to last through the winter months. 

Photo of the Week

Kraft designs their tarter sauce bottles so that it's hard to get all the contents out of the bottle. I simply cut them in half and use a spatula to get all the sauce out of each bottle. There is at least half of a cup inside each one when I do this, which is enough for two or three more meals.

What’s for Dinner

Meatless Monday ~ Chicken Tacos, Corn. 

Taco Tuesday ~ Homemade Pizza. 

Wednesday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads

Thursday ~ Teriyaki Chicken, Baked Potatoes, Roasted Brussel Sprouts. 

Friday ~ Salmon Patties, Boiled Potatoes, Peas & Carrots. 

Saturday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage, Macaroni & Cheese, Roasted Beets. 

Sunday ~ Spaghetti & Meatballs, Salad, and Garlic Bread.

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

Third Frugal Friday of November 2024

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

Some people think the way to beat the system is to make more moneyWhile some people think the way to beat the system is to need less money.

My Frugal Week
This week I pulled out all of the Christmas items for packages and gifts I had bought all year long. Buying all year long saves me money as I find useful items on sale, mark down or clearance. Now I've sorted presents that go together and made a list and know where I need to fill in with other items. 
I dried my laundry on a drying rack in my bedroom. 
I processed and measured seventy items of clothing for Bailey on Sunday. 
Someone offered me $1,000 this week to buy my blog, but I turned them down. The information here is more valuable than that to me. 
On Monday I started working on the large hot casserole pads for Christmas gifts. 
On The Health Front
Tuesday was a visit to the Retina Specialist for injections in both eyes. And Wednesday was a CT of my right knee. My first knee surgery is scheduled for December 27th. 
A few years ago I started out on a journey to take control of my health. My orthopedic doctor wanted me to lose weight before he would do knee surgery on me. 
I had blood work done last week and these are the results of eating a healthier diet: 
My total cholesterol is 107, down from 205 in 2021. A number under 200 is optimal. 
My Triglycerides are 74, down from 383 in 2021. A number under 150 is optimal. 
My HDL cholesterol is 59, up from 43, in 2021.A number greater than 50 is good. 
My  LDL Cholesterol is 33, down from 98, in 2021. A number less than 100 is optimal. 
Freebies
A friend gave me two turkey breasts and a turkey this week, so I stuck them in the freezer and will have one of them for Thanksgiving. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Frugal Queen ~ Helping a Viewer Stretch Their Food Budget to Last a Month
Stitcharama Embroidery Patterns YouTube Channel ~ Short tutorials on how to do certain stitches for your embroidery projects. Making your own gifts will save money on Christmas presents. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Seven More Places to Find Free Food
How was your 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