Final Frugal Friday of August 2025

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

"I am in control of my cost of living. Everything I do is a decision, and it’s made by me, not the world around me"  ~ Pete Adeney (Mr. Money Mustache)  

My Frugal Week
I scanned all of my purchases into Fetch and NCP Mobile this week. 
I filled up my car on Saturday paying $2.75 a gallon, which is 25 cents more than last week. I should have shopped around as I did see it lower at other places during the day while going to yard sales. 
Last Friday I received $100 from Adsense for my blog for the last four months. $40 of that went into my gas tank, and $16.44 went to buy cat food, 
Yard Sale Saturday
There weren't very many yard sales last week, but we did go to six of them. I bought two things for myself at the same sale. 

One was this Style & Co. sweater coat with attached hood for $1.00 that will be perfect to wear around the house this winter when it's cold. I couldn't believe she sold it for only $1.00 as she could have gotten more money. I checked online and they are selling for $30 and up on the second hand markets. 

The other item I bought was a brand new pair of fleece lined Muk Luk leggings for $1.00, which sell for $22.99 on the website. I wanted a pair of them to keep warm last winter, so I'll be thrilled to have them this winter. 
I didn't find anything I needed at any of the other yard sales we went to that day. Two of them were estate sales, which usually have higher prices. One sale had a bar of Fels Naptha soap for $9.99, but it only costs $1.78 at Walmart. 
It is entertaining though to look at estate sales and see how people lived and the things they saved over the years. We saw a lot of old and original boxes to items that were interesting to see. Bailey picked up a Shark vacuum for $15, which needs to be cleaned up, but was a huge savings off the retail price of one.   
Bailey wanted to go thrift store shopping afterwards as she didn't get enough inventory at yard sales, so we went to two thrift stores. I found a LuLaRoe Erika Short Sleeve Swing top for $4.00. 
This is my favorite style of shirt as it's a swing style shirt flowing freely at the bottom instead of being fitted. I look for them whenever I'm shopping the second hand markets. This was my first time finding one in medium and it fit well, so now I'll look for them in the medium size. 
Health News
Tuesday I had an ultrasound and then saw the urologist on Wednesday for a follow up on my recent kidney stone issues. The kidney stone is gone and there are no other stones and my kidney is back to normal size. Yay!
I continue to ride my bicycle pedals for one hour each day as you know motion is lotion for our joints. 
Freebies

I've received this devotional from Still Waters Ministry for several years now. They publish a daily devotional book released in two month increments, which includes a small devotion, corresponding daily Bible readings, a one year Bible reading plan, and a maxim for each day. 
This ministry is under the direction of Cedar Springs Amish-Mennonite church in Kentucky. Still Waters Ministries also distributes pocket sermons, a cappella choral CDs, and sermon CDs. 
You can write to the address below if you're interested in a free subscription to this devotional.
Stillwaters Ministries Church 270 Antioch Road Clarkson, KY 42726

I also received a free copy of the September/October 2025 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. 
From North Dakota State University: Pinching Pennies In The Kitchen: Make Your Own Snack Mixes
  Photo of the Week

We had a cold front come through over the weekend, which lowered the humidity, which feels wonderful. I walked outside several days this week as a result. I took pictures of some of the wildflowers growing on our property. I hope you enjoy them too. 
Savings of the Week

I went to our local apple orchard on Monday. This is the only time of year they have Honey Crisp Apples. I bought a bushel (40 pounds) of seconds for $27, which worked out to 28 cents each. 💕 
Saving Money on Entertainment
Eventbrite is an American event management and ticketing website. The service allows users to browse, create, and promote local events. I downloaded the app onto my phone and was surprised to see how many free events were being held right where I live such as a couple of free concerts, a book club, and a line dancing class. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Mr. Money Mustache writes about, How to Navigate the Tariff Circus. 
That’s all to report from here this week. 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.

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #4 August 2025

 My Frugal Week

According to an article over at Nerd Wallet, food prices have continued to rise so far this year and are 2.9% higher compared to last year, according to the consumer price index report released Aug. 12 from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Here is another interesting article from the USDA on the outlook on food prices which states food at home prices are predicted to increase by 2.2 percent in 2025, unfortunately. 

Fortunately, Consumer Affairs is reporting that the price of school supplies and lunch cost a little less in 2025 in this article. 

The Hello Brownlow website shares their tips on, How to Spend Less Than $50 on Groceries a Month, which includes taking inventory of your pantry and meal planning. 

We will continue to monitor our spending and grocery store prices and make substitutions as we can in order to save where possible. This doesn't have to mean going without, but rather getting creative. 

What you can make, reuse, or repurpose instead of spending money? 

 

Recipe of the Week

This is the recipe Bailey made on Sunday, the day she does her breakfast meal preps for the first few days of the week, using Chat GPT and one of my recipes. I tasted it and it was really good and meaty. This was a great recipe to use up some of those eggs and cottage cheese we got for such good deals. 

Bailey's Breakfast Quiche

Ingredients:

12 eggs

1/2 cup Yellow Onion

1 cup Cottage Cheese

1/2 cup Fairlife Milk

12 Turkey Sausage Patties

1/2 cup Black Olives

Directions: 

She mixed everything together and baked in a 350 degree oven for about 35 minutes.

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Chicken Breast Filets, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Less Pasta Salad. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night Pizza and Salads. 

Wednesday ~ Smoked Beef Brisket, Oven Roasted Potatoes & Onions, and Red Cabbage & Onions. 

Thursday ~ Sticky Pineapple Chicken, Green Beans with Onions, and Roasted Sweet Potatoes. 

Friday ~ Chicken Parmesan, Green Beans & Onions.

Saturday ~ Bailey took us out to eat at the Chinese Buffet. We had little portions of Sesame Chicken, Cajun Chicken, Beef & Broccoli, Crab Rangoon, Egg Rolls, and fresh Watermelon. It was delicious. 

Sunday ~ Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Chili from the Skinny Spatula website. I left out the buffalo wing sauce and cream cheese and substituted mozzarella cheese for the cream cheese. This recipe helped use up a can of cannellini beans I had in the pantry. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Image Credit

Fourth Frugal Friday of August 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

The beauty of a menu plan is that it gives you ideas when you just cannot think straight at the end of a long and perhaps busy day.  It doesn't have to be written in stone and rigidly adhered to, and sometimes it can simply be beans on toast again. ~  Sue, from Eating Well on a Small Budget

My Frugal Week
As other bloggers have written about, our garden did not produce this year. I'm not sure if it was due to the lack of bees that experts have been writing about or the cool then hot, dry weather.  My pepper plant has buds on, but hasn't produced anything beyond that and my tomato plants never even had flowers. Maybe next year we will try again. 
I hung laundry up to dry this week to save money on electricity. 
I combined all my errands into the two days I had to go out this week to save money on gas. I filled up my car with gas on Saturday paying $2.50 per gallon at Circle K. 
I've been working extra hard this month to keep expenses under control, using what we have here rather than buying more. 
Health News
On Monday I had an appointment with my diabetes doctor. She didn’t like the low blood sugars she saw and had a Dexcom G7 installed in my arm, which is a continuous glucose monitor. It alerted me twice on Monday evening that my blood sugar was too low. 
She had me see the dietician on Wednesday who went over ways to combat the low blood sugars. The monitor went off multiple times during the night on Tuesday. 
This will be a learning curve as I can see how certain foods change my blood sugar. 
Even after just one day I could tell a huge difference. I cut out any snacks after dinner including my favorite jello with fruit. The dietitian thinks that may have been the issue, so I cut it out and my monitor didn’t go off once that night. She wants me to have jello with no fruit and combined with a protein like a scoop of cottage cheese if I feel like I need a snack. 
 I go back to the diabetes doctor in two weeks to discuss all of this. 
Yard Sales & Savings of the Week
We skipped yard sales last week, but didn’t want to miss out on a church yard sale this past Saturday. Turns out it was mostly a crafts sale, but we did make it to several other sales before it got too hot. 

My best deal was a box  of four bottles (16 ounce) of Hibicleans Antiseptic Skin Cleanser for $1.00 (25 cents each).  These came with two foaming pumps and sell for $19.95 on Amazon. I use this regularly, and was definitely tickled to get such a great deal on it. This was an estate sale and the sellers had so much medical equipment and supplies, they were practically giving it away. 
I also picked up two LulaRoe shirts and one pair of pants for myself as well as a double insulated reusable McAlister's cup and famous red straw. I still had yard sale cash from two weeks ago, only spent $6.00 today and still have a few dollars left for next week. 
Yard Sales can also be inexpensive entertainment. I saw a beautiful gray cat who allowed me to pet her at one of the estate sales. She was lounging on their couch when I spotted her. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
I played Wordle every day this week. Colorado Girl mentioned in a blog post recently that Connections and the Mini are also part of The NY Times you can play for free once a day also. Both are fun to play also and also quick. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Definitely reading your blogs listed in the sidebar here. 
From The English Kitchen, Excellent Ways to Save Money on your Grocery Bill. 
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.

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Saving Money in my Frugal Kitchen ~ Week #3 August 2025

 My Frugal Week

As usual, I made more sugar free orange jello cups with mandarin oranges as I ran out of them yesterday. 

I made baked apples one day this week as some of them were getting long in the tooth and needed to be used soon. 

I stopped in at the local peach orchard to get one last batch of peaches, which I didn't think I was going to get as they stated the season would be over by now just a couple of weeks ago. I was tickled to be able to still get some. 

Beverages of the Week

Vanilla Salted Caramel Protein Drink

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, Corn on the Cob, Steamed Broccoli. 

Tuesday ~ Movie Night Pizza. 

Wednesday ~ Bailey went to a book signing, so I was on my own for dinner. I made a Chicken Corn Casserole, Vegetable Stir Fry, and Butter Beans. 

Thursday ~ Chicken Strips, Ginger Stir Fried Vegetables, and Cantaloupe. 

Friday ~ Chicken Breast Filets, Air Fried Carrots, Stir Fry, and Cantaloupe. 

Saturday ~ Chicken Breast Filets, Baked Potatoes, Pickled Beets, Air Fried Peaches, and Butter Beans. 

Sunday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage Links on Buns, Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Red Cabbage and Onions. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Image Credit

Third Frugal Friday of August 2025

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Flash Flooding in Chattanooga

In the news here this week was the flash flooding. which occurred in Chattanooga,  on Tuesday following a period of heavy rainfall. The flooding led to road closures, including this portion of Interstate 24, pictured above. We were spared from any flooding here, but did have significant amounts of rain from the storm. 
My Frugal Week
I've spent this week at home mostly, processing & measuring clothes for Bailey, and pulling out items for the Sweet WeePeets consignment sale starting on September 6th. I have been storing items in my bedroom closet until now, so I've been pulling those items out this week.  
On Thursday I did make a trip to Chattanooga and stopped at the community garden and picked some delicious grape tomatoes. The flooding was gone from the areas I needed to run errands, but I could tell where some of those areas had flooded.
Savings of the Week

Bailey stopped at CVS on Monday to use our CVS Rewards. We had over $18 worth thanks to my $10 reward, pharmacy rewards, and and extra $5 free item. She picked up an 84 ounce bottle of Tide and a box of baby wipes and only paid 29 cents for the entire transaction. Of course, I do pay $5 each month for the ExtraCare Plus membership to get the $10 reward, which is a good deal. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Sara from frozen Pennies has been busy making more YouTube videos this week: 
10 Things EVERYONE Loves About Frugal Living - But I Don't (DON'T HATE ME!)

10 Minimum Wage Frugal Habits That Actually Work on $2,200 a Month
What I've been Reading This Week
Liquids till Lunch: 12 Small Habits That Will Change Your Life for Good,  written by Mary Ruth Ghiyam. She writes about her mission to help others feel their best, which is a roadmap anyone can follow to substantially improve their health, happiness, and psychological well being. 

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 💕 ~ 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 ~ Second Week of August 2025

My Frugal Week

We found a cheaper source for Bailey’s Keto buns at the Flowers Bakery Outlet in Chattanooga. They used to not carry the Keto buns, but I stopped in last week to check and they had some. She stopped in again on Monday to pick up some more. They sell them for $1.74, which is a screaming good deal compared to the $6.18 Walmart price. 

We are still in use it up mode here as we are still working through all the cottage cheese we have and the numerous eggs on hand.  I made deviled eggs on Tuesday, and have been making more cottage cheese dishes such as the cottage cheese quiche and pineapple fluff using the crushed pineapple and mandarin oranges we bought recently. 

Tuesday is my usual night to not have to cook as it’s Baileys movie night. I love having the day unencumbered. 

We've been enjoying the last of the peaches from our local peach orchard this week. The orchard will be done for the season in two weeks. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~  Sun-dried Tomato Chicken, Stir Fried Vegetables, Cucumber Salad. 

Tuesday ~ $2.00 Personal Pan Pizza from Pizza Hut. 

Wednesday ~ Salmon Patties, Green Beans with Potatoes & Onions, Chow Chow. 

Thursday ~ Turkey Polish Sausage Dogs, Coleslaw.

Friday ~ Homemade Chicken Nuggets, which I made bigger than usual, which made it easier on me, so I'll be doing this again. I served them with Field Peas & Snaps, and Turnip Greens. 

Saturday ~ Smoked Sausage, Fried Apples, and Green Beans. 

Sunday ~ Easy Sausage Quiche using Turkey Sausage, Steamed Broccoli, and Corn on the Cob. 

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

Belinda

Homemaker at Heart

~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Image Credit