First Frugal Friday of October 2025

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday!
My Frugal Week

Chris delivered the garden bench that Bailey and I had made in memory of my Dad, her Papaw. Chris cut down and milled the lumber from red cedar trees he cut down on our property. Dad lived here for almost forty years and loved this place. I couldn’t think of a better way to honor him. 
Extra Income from Side Hustles & Others
I sold one item on Facebook Marketplace for $30, which was a Coca Cola bottle made in Cleveland, TN. I bought it for 50 cents this summer at a yard sale, so this was a great flip. 
I received a check from Amazon Associates for $10.83. 
I received a settlement from the Walmart class action lawsuit for $25.97. 
Friday Freebies, Free Bread & Tutoring 
On Friday I had a tutoring session with two students. 
Our local charity shop was also giving away free bread on Friday, so I went and got two Keto loaves, which is the limit. I also picked up three math books for the students I am tutoring. 
Yard Sale Saturday & More Freebies
We had a good day of yard sales, and the best part was the very end when we stumbled across a free church yard sale. They were packing everything up when we got there, but we both still managed to get a bag full of free clothes. 
One of the items I found at an estate sale is a narrow leaf rake for $3.00, which will be perfect to rake all the narrow spaces by the foot of the stairs and in the pole barn. I also picked up two free bags of stuff at two other sales, one included a plug in pumpkin for Halloween. 
After we came home and I made dinner, I went to People Helping People and was able to help them unload vegetables from the Mennonites. I also dropped off some clothes for them and noticed they had Dayquil Severe Cold in the free box, so I was able to get three boxes of those.
Spare Keys
I checked the price to have a key made at one of the kiosks in Walmart and they wanted $7.99 to make a key. There is no way I would pay that much for that convenience, and it occurred to me that I didn’t NEED to have one made. 
We keep the keys to Dad’s office downstairs on a couple of lanyards by the back door upstairs and one of those sets of keys was my Dad’s personal keychain complete with his grocery store cards. So, I took his office key from his set and moved it to my key ring. 
Now when I need to get into the office I won’t need to get the key upstairs but will have it with me on my own set of keys. I find myself going down there much more often these days, thanks to my new knees, so this will be much more convenient. 
Trading Books
I went to McKay Used Books last week and traded books. I got over $50 in trade credit and only spent around $20, so I have plenty to spend on another day. I also picked up a couple of math workbooks for the students I am tutoring. 
Savings of the Week
Publix has continued their sale on the almond milk I bought last week, so I was able to get eight more cartons of shelf stable almond milk for $2 each, saving me $6 in the process. 
Money Saving Videos
Beyond Food Market was created by Jose in Chicago. His goal has been to bring gluten free vegan food to underserved food desserts. He has a Facebook page where he posts reels that I've been watching. 
In this one he makes potato tacos and has $2 to spend to feed himself. He buys tortillas, two potatoes, one tomato, one pepper and one lime for $1.87. He boiled the potatoes, put them in the tortillas and air fried them. He made a salsa with the tomato and pepper. He ended up with six tacos and four taquitos for $1.87. 
He has multiple reels just like this one on how he creates low cost meals to feed himself. It is very interesting to me to watch how he buys the smallest amount of ingredients, spends so little, and makes a big plate of food. I thought some of you might be interested in his content too. 
Saving Money on Entertainment

This week I watched the film, No Down Payment, which is a 1957 film about four couples in California who have bought houses near one another and face problems such as alcoholism, racism, promiscuity, and discrimination against lack of education, until a tragic event forces them to reassess their lives.

I was surprised at how the film addressed some of the issues of that time in the film such as the discrimination of Japanese Americans, but I do understand that is an ugly part of American history. 

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