Third Frugal Friday of November 2025

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Quote of the Week

Freedom comes from owing nothing. 

My Frugal Week
On Saturday I measured and packaged fifty-three items for Bailey's online shops. 
On Sunday I woke up early and cleaned up in the kitchen putting things away, wiping down the cabinets, cleaned up the cat food area and washed out their food and water bowls, took the garbage out. It's so much easier to go in there and cook when the kitchen is all neat and tidy. 
Sunday was a liquids only day for me as I was scheduled for outpatient surgery to remove a hernia on Monday. There were no complications and I was back home by one o’clock Monday afternoon. Since then I’ve stayed home, not spending any money, and recuperated. 

A tip I learned from Grandma Donna’s website this week is if the headboard on your bed is next to an outside wall, add a quilt to the back of your headboard to make it warmer. I’ll definitely be doing this as it gets colder. 

Saving Money on Christmas
One thing that I do to save money at Christmas time is to look for bargains and second hand finds all year long. For example, last winter I found some brand new electric blankets on markdown, so I bought two of them to give as Christmas presents this year. 

I found a beautiful Proverbs 31 mug with a lid at a yard sale this summer. It’s the perfect hostess gift for a family member. 

I once read before about a family with a modest income that spent hundreds of dollars on Christmas gifts. Not long after they struggled financially because they did not expect car repair bills or an extra high heating bill. They got into trouble because they lived above their standard of living. 

Setting limits on gifts will help keep funds available for our needs and those unplanned expenses that come up in life. 

Buy Nothing Day
Buy Nothing Day is a day of protest against consumerism, and is held the day after the U.S.A. Thanksgiving holiday, concurrent with Black Friday. This year it will be held on Friday, November 28, 2025. 
Question of the Week
Are you ok with someone buying you a used Christmas gift?
My answer to this is, yes.  I have no problem with getting a present that was bought second hand, especially if it is something I wanted. I buy second hand items for myself regularly. And I’ve always let Bailey know I am ok with this too, so no pressure on her to spend more money getting something new. 
Freebies
The growing season is winding down here as evidenced by the small amount of produce from the Mennonites available from People Helping People on Saturday evening. Still we came home with tomatoes and peppers for which I am extremely grateful. 
The Great Cleanup
On Saturday I went downstairs and worked in the cabinet that is filled with stuff from our move here from Illinois in 1986. I cleaned one row of boxes of mostly mail and knife publications. They filled up my trunk, so I took them to the convenience center and dropped them in the dumpster. 
Saving on Electric
Our electric bill went from $229.17 last month to $160.53 this month in our all electric home, which is a savings of $68.64. I love it when we’re able to turn the air conditioner off at this time of year for this reason. 
Saving Money YouTube Videos 

An interesting YouTube video portraying the 1960s housewives who quietly saved $1.00 bills and created groups to share, trade, and barter to help with finances.  These were women who could make one dollar do the work of two dollars. 
Stretching budgets, turning leftovers into new meals, sewing clothes from patterns, and making their own cleaning solutions. What she practiced with her careful calculations, was a form of fiscal discipline that no business school taught, born out of necessity.
What I've been Reading This Week
 The Not Buying Anything blog has a blog post this week on Resisting the Holiday Hype.  It is a selection of holiday posts, which focus on anti-consumerism, waste reduction, and low cost or free alternatives to the holiday.
One of the things he mentions is that 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 dollars a day. That made me do the math and figure out how much I have to live on each day.
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