Second Frugal Friday of April 2025

Welcome to Frugal Friday! 
Quote of the Week

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

My Frugal Week
Payday fell this week, so all the bills were paid, and we did our monthly stock up on groceries, and we are both being extra vigilant with our money as times are hard right now and we don't know what the future holds. 
I had the relator come this week to appraise the house. We still have to clean out the downstairs of Dad's machinery, tools, and other items before we can sell, but now we have an idea of what to expect when the time comes.
I went to physical therapy three times again this week. My new knee is doing well for only three weeks out from surgery and my physical therapist tells me I am very motivated and doing well with my therapy. She had me walking on a cane on Wednesday and said I can use this while in the house, but to still use the walker when out and about. 
I've been needing some smaller sized pants, so on Friday we went to the thrift store to look. I didn't find any pants, but did find two new shirts. 
One item I bought was a cutting board with grippers on one side. My PT therapist uses a similar board for heel slides to stretch my knee. I want to do them at home on days I don't have PT. I asked her and she said a baking sheet would work, but those were $3.99 at the thrift store. So, I found a cutting board for 99 cents and it works just like I need it too. I love finding things I need at a lower cost. 

Speaking of finding things, we found a three quart Instant Pot at the thrift store for $15 this week. I have wanted one this size for many years. Bailey has looked for one for me for years and was disappointed that I was with her when we found it. She would have given it to me for my birthday and/or Mother's Day in May. 
This three quart pot sells for $79.95 on Amazon and I have a six quart, so could never justify buying one, until now. I've already used it to make steamed carrots for dinner one night this week and it is the perfect size for two people. Next to it is the three quart slow cooker, which I also found this week for $4.99 at Goodwill. These appliances are so much easier for me to handle as they are not as big, bulky, and heavy as the bigger appliances. 
Other frugal things I did this week:
- Added to my emergency fund- Added to our house fund- Combined errands when driving- dried clothes on clothes line
Joy of the Week
The older way of adding photos to my blog stopped working last week and I was disappointed. But I found a new way to add photos very easily this week and I'm thrilled to be back in business with my photos. Best of all the option to add them was free. 
Photo of the Week

I found these Savings jars at Goodwill this week. There were two of them and one that says Road Trip. They are savings banks I'll be using for my blog. 
Savings of the Week
Don't forget to compare prices when shopping for necessities. I was out of dried plums this week, so went to add to my Walmart cart. I was shocked when the price of the one pound container was $7.78 for the Great Value brand, which was definitely an increase in price.  A simple Google search showed me several other options to save money. I bought some at Publix for $6.49 and were name brand. 
Question of the Week
The following article, Eleven Examples of Extreme Frugality, over at Tuppenny's Fireplace raised some interesting questions. She lists several examples of extreme frugality, so I copied the list and wrote my response in parenthesis as to whether or not we've done that. How about you? Any on this list you've done?
1. Eat Offal (No)2. Eat Roadkill (No)3. Eat Moldy Food (Yes, we've cut it off cheese in the past)4. No [Sham]Poo (No)5. Stop Shaving (Yes)6. Cut Your Own Hair (Yes)7. Collect & Reuse Gray Water (Yes, we also collect rainwater)8. Be Spare with Heating (Yes)9. Other People's Leftovers (Yes, especially after a party)10. Dumpster Diving (Yes)11. Super Cheap Meals (Yes)
What I've been Reading This Week
This week I've been reading Dr. Michael Greger's book titled, How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss. Dr. Greger bases all his books and YouTube videos on research studies. He donates all the sales from his books to charity and encourages people to borrow his book from the library. This book in steeped in scientific facts about permanent ways of losing weight. 

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 #1 April 2025

My Frugal Week

I took out the last package of bone-in chicken breast out of the freezer to thaw this week. I cooked those in the crockpot on Friday to have chicken for the weekend. 

And on Thursday I decided to do some grocery shopping. I went to Trader Joe's, Gordons Food Service, and Publix. I picked up olive oil, black olives, B1G1FREE light OG Italian dressing. 

I found a canister of Duncan Doughnuts coffee in the dollar bin. I couldn’t believe it as later that day I saw the same sized canister at Publix for $18.99. 

On Friday we stopped at UGO, Kroger, and Ingles. 

The best deals we found at UGO were cream cheese for $1.00, Cracker Barrel Cheese for $1.19, and Siggis Yogurt 3 for $1.00. The sell by dates were close on the yogurt, so I only bought six, but what a great deal as it normally sells for $1.69 and up. 

UGO had the Orgain protein drinks for $1.19 each. At Kroger they are $3.50 each, so I bought three boxes, which is 54 in all and will last me over two months. 

We bought five packages of chicken breast at Ingles on markdown for $3.99 each. 

At Kroger we used multiple coupons and sales and saved $16.74 with coupons. We also had $10 off our grocery order on out account for a survey we did, and also we had a coupon for a free bag of Iams cat food. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Beef Cube Steak in Gravy, Potato & Onion Bake, Green Beans & Onions. 

Movie Night Tuesday ~ It’s movie night for Bailey, so I had the night off from cooking. Bailey had homemade pizza and I had the vegetable soup I made on Sunday. 

Wednesday ~ I pulled one of the $2 Rotisserie Chickens out of the freezer for dinner. I pulled the chicken off the bone and chopped the meat up, seasoned with onions and taco seasoning mix.  Chicken Tacos for dinner and I had a side of the vegetable soup as well 

Thursday ~ Using more of the rotisserie chicken, I made a salad for dinner, but Bailey wanted chicken tacos again, so we both had what we wanted. I served it with fresh strawberries and radishes. 

Friday ~ I put the last package of bone in chicken breast in the crockpot. And I seasoned it with Kinders grilled chicken seasoning. We had it for dinner once we came home from grocery shopping that day. 

Saturday ~ Chicken Salads with all kinds of delicious add ins, my favorite type of meal. 

Sunday ~ Chicken Fajitas, Corn or Flour Tortillas, Red Peppers, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Red Onions, Black Olives, Chipotle Sauce, and Corn. 

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 ~ First Frugal Friday of April 2025

 Welcome to Frugal Friday!

My Frugal Week
On Monday my siblings and I closed on Dad’s property, and it truly felt like the end of an era for me. I was nineteen years old when we came here and watched my parents worked hard to buy this land of fifteen acres and add adjoining land to the original land over the years and ended up with forty acres. Today I am fifty-seven years old and we are left with only the original fifteen acres and one day this will belong to someone else too. 

There is a gentleman here who builds furniture out of red cedar trees and we have several on our property here. So, I've decide to have him build one from a cedar tree on our property. Then, when we leave this place, we will always have this as a reminder of this land and how much my Dad loved it. 
This week I decided to let one of our garbage man go as they both wanted to come on the same day and we didn’t need that. That will mean be an extra $60 in my budget every month. 
I went to physical therapy three times this week and had a follow up visit with my surgeon on another day. Having to get up and dressed and out of the house four days this week makes it feel like I’m working outside our home again. This pattern will continue for the next four weeks as well as physical therapy is scheduled for three days each week. 
I have to say that even though it’s hard, I love GOING to physical therapy much better than home health coming here. They have the necessary equipment there and work much harder with me. I have a better understanding of why my surgeon prefers his patients go to PT rather than have them come in for home health. 
Frugal Things I Did This Week:
- hung laundry up to dry- made dinner at home each night- paid all the bills online saving postage- perused grocery store ads online- combined errands to save on gas- no shopping for entertainment thus avoiding consumerism - shopping with purpose for necessities 
Freebies
Our local thrift store, People Helping People, put free vegetables on their Facebook page on Thursday. I did not see it in time to go that day, but managed to go the next day and was given some carrots and potatoes. They had onions and sweet potatoes, but were already out of those by the time I was able to get there. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos
Vintage Life of USA YouTube channel has a video on, "20 Cheap Recipes We Ate To Get Through The Great Depression". Included are the recipes and background of several Depression era recipes such as hot water cornbread and mock apple pie.
What I've been Reading This Week
Do What is Needed ~ A blog post by Donna. Her and her husband are busy with gardening plans this spring. Here is a tidbit from the post:

Find ways to cut out expenses, such as dropping some things entirely if it is not completely necessary and put that money aside, we all need to have at least some savings.   Learn to grow food, plant the seed, eat homegrown food, stay informed and then do things that keeps our family safe.

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