Fourth Frugal Friday of January 2026

 

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I share the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
On Saturday I did some deep cleaning in the house. I pulled out all the refrigerator drawers and gave them a good scrubbing inside and out with hot soapy water. I took multiple things from my bedroom closet and put them downstairs to free up space in my closet. 
I also moved all of the houseplants, trimmed the dead ends, and cleaned the dresser they sit on with orange oil furniture polish. The dresser looks so good cleaned up like that. I also did four loads of laundry and was able to get in over 10,000 steps this day. 
On Sunday we found a steel shelf on Facebook Marketplace, brand new in the box, for $20, so I went and picked it up and put it together on Monday. It costs $85 on Amazon, so this was a very good deal. 

I went ahead and put the shelf in my bedroom closet by taking some more items from there and moving them downstairs. The shelf is great for shoes, my fire escape ladder in the blue bin, and other various items. 
Story of Cleaning Out
Bailey was looking for inventory online the other day and happened across an ad from an older lady giving away free clothes on Facebook Marketplace. She told Bailey that her grown children had been telling her she needed to start getting rid of stuff as her home was full. Sound familiar?
The first batch was pretty good, so Bailey went back and picked up more another batch. This batch came from the lady's carport, where she had put bags of clothes she wanted to donate, but they didn't get donated and just sat there. The majority of the second batch had to be trashed since they had been stored outside. 
To me it was another reminder to declutter regularly and not leave unnecessary items for someone else to clean. I went through my clothes this week and gave some to Bailey to resell and donated others for someone else to use. Purging our homes of items we no longer need is a good thing. 
Blogger
Are any of you having issues with Blogger on commenting or seeing other blogs in your side bar? I count on my sidebar to keep me up to date on your blogs, but this tablet I’m using doesn’t want to display them. If you’ve noticed I’ve not been commenting as much, this is the reason. I’m going to work on this and do better this week. 
Rewards Programs
I entered my receipts from the week into the Fetch app, scanned my purchases into NCP, and worked Microsoft Rewards each day. On Tuesday I submitted points for a $50 PayPal card from NCP. If you're interested in joining NCP, I hope you'll use my referral code of 3953F7F. 
Saving on Electric
Our electric bill went up last month by a few dollars and I suspect it was the extra lights for Christmas. We’ve had to turn on the heat this week as it’s been cold here, so the bill will probably stay a little higher until the weather gets warmer. 
Speaking of electricity, we are bracing for a winter ice storm this weekend. Many are predicting that we will lose power, but we hope not. We have alternate heat if necessary. Our cars are filled up, plenty of non-perishable food on hand, plenty of warm clothes and blankets too. 
I’d rather be prepared and not need these things than not be prepared for the loss of electricity and freezing temperatures. I hope everyone in the path of this storm stays safe and warm, 
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 Three January 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

On Friday I made a bean salad to have as a side dish for dinners over the weekend. I used up several varieties of canned beans including black, kidney, pinto, great northern, chick peas, black eyed peas, and also added fresh tomatoes, red peppers, and diced onions. I made a dressing of EVOO, red wine vinegar, and several spices. One cup had 10 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber, which fits well in our eating plan. 

Use It Up Item Of The Week

I had a three pound chub of ground beef in the freezer, which I took out to thaw last Sunday. I used it to make a stockpot full of chili, which made 18 cups of chili. There was plenty for dinner for two nights and then to have some in the freezer for future meals. 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~  Chili, Cheddar Cheese, Saltine Crackers or Tortilla Chips. 

Tuesday ~ Orange Chicken, Brown Rice, Turnip Greens. 

Wednesday ~ Chili Tacos, Cheddar Cheese, Saltine Crackers or Tortilla Chips. 

Thursday & Friday ~ Egg Roll in a Bowl, Bean Salad, Corn on the Cob. 

Saturday ~ Italian Sausage, Bean Salad, Corn on the Cob.

Sunday ~ Chicken Fajitas, Corn or Flour Tortillas, Red Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, Cheddar Cheese, Jalapeños, Homemade Chipotle Ranch., Queso & Tortilla Chips. 

I took a gallon bag of chicken breasts, which I bought on sale at Gordon’s, and set it out to thaw and then cooked it in the crockpot on Sunday. I added fresh cut up onions, red bell peppers, and a can of tomatoes to the crockpot along with some fajita seasoning. Sides were corn and bean salad for anyone who wanted those. I’ll be using this as the basis for our meals for a couple of days this week. 

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 January 2026

                                                           

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
Last Friday was the People Helping People bag sale, so Bailey and I went. Afterwards we took our cat, Ginger, for his rabies and feline distemper shots at a low cost clinic for $15. He is a long hair cat and we are going to take him to the groomer, so he has to be up to date on his shots. 
Two people from the American Red Cross came on Monday and installed four smoke detectors in our home, one in both bedrooms, one in the hallway, and one downstairs, all for free. They will last for ten years at which time they will be replaced. 
On Tuesday I had an appointment with the orthopedic doctor for my hip. There is no arthritis in the hip, so she thinks the pain is coming from my back and scheduled me to see the back orthopedic doctor. 
Since I was in Chattanooga, I took the opportunity to do a little thrifting. I bought a pull chain lamp with usb cords for $5.00. 
It’s been a quiet week here with no grocery shopping, although I do have a tutoring session later today. 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 Two January 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

This week I tried to fix the cabinet drawer pull that came off, but was only partially successful. I need a drill bit attachment to get the screws all the way in and will need to either find one here or buy one. 

While I was in that drawer I went ahead and cleaned it out. Removing the utensils we’ve not been using and adding those to the consignment pile downstairs. 

Anne over at Cooking and All That Jazz mentioned the other day that she and her hubby split one potato between them when having a baked potato for dinner. I think that is a great idea and I borrowed it over the weekend. I had two potatoes in my pantry, so I made one on Saturday and one on Sunday and Bailey and I split them both days. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Grilled Chicken Salads

Using the last of some grilled chicken, which I served in salads, which included pumpkin seeds, pickled beets, black olives, chick peas, tomatoes, red peppers, and cheddar cheese. 

Tuesday ~ Homemade Pizza

Wednesday & Thursday ~ Chicken Tacos, Corn. 

I had three packages of chicken thighs with skin and bones in the freezer taking up precious space, so I thawed and cooked them in the crockpot for dinner. Afterwards I ended up with eight cups of taco flavored chicken. We did a repeat of this on Thursday evening since we had so much chicken. Sides were all the taco toppings and corn. 

Friday ~ Lasagna, Garden Salad, and Garlic Bread. 

This was one of the items I had in the freezer and thawed to have for dinner. Sides were salad and garlic bread. 

Saturday ~ Chicken Strips with Honey Mustard, Baked Potato, Green Peas, 

The chicken strips were some I had in the freezer while the green peas were what was left from Friday night dinner. I made one baked potato for dinner and Bailey and I split it. I added cheese and black olives to mine and she had hers with homemade chipotle ranch. 

Sunday ~ Ham, Baked Potato, and Steamed Kale. 

The ham was one I bought on markdown after the holidays. I used up my last baking potato, which Bailey and I split again. Vegetable was steamed kale with fig balsamic vinegar. Delicious!

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

Second Frugal Friday of January 2026

                                                        

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
Last Friday we had friends come to see us and take us out to lunch at a local BBQ restaurant. They were very good friends to both of my parents and we did a little trading while they were here. 
I gave him several things that belonged to my Dad that he could add to his knife collection. He brought me cereal and peanut butter. He worked for Post cereal company in Battle Creek, Michigan for years and can buy from the company store. 
Afterwards Bailey and I went thrifting and grocery shopping. I picked up an LL Bean winter coat for myself for $3.00. Losing weight has made thrift store shopping so much more fun for me because I can fit in smaller clothes these days. It’s like a treasure hunt, which I love. 
One of the items we picked up was an escape ladder for $15 in case of fire as we are upstairs and it’s a long way to the ground if we had to escape. Bailey found one this summer and she wanted one for my bedroom too, so now both bedrooms have one just in case. 
Cheryl over at Cheryl’s Frugal Corner, wrote about safety items this week, which led me to Google free smoke detectors. I found two in my area one for the state of Tennessee and one for the American Red Cross. If you know of someone who needs smoke detectors in their home please share this with them. 
On Sunday I woke up ready to take down all the Christmas decorations. I took both trees down that were inside the house along with all the decorations. We will miss the festive look from the holidays, but it sure is good to have the house back in order. Thanks to all of that I had over 10,000 steps in before dinner time. 
I had tutoring sessions on Monday and Thursday this week. Monday is usually my  laundry day, but I was still able to get that done too and run a couple of errands since I was in town. 
On Wednesday I cleaned in my bedroom and stripped down the bed, washing all the bedclothes and putting on a heated mattress pad I received for Christmas. Washing bed clothes in winter time is a big job with all those blankets on the bed. It’s still been warm here this week, so I’ve not had the chance to try it yet. 
We had roofers come out on Thursday and give us an estimate for a new roof, which the house needs. We are taking our cats for vaccinations on Friday at the low cost clinic for $15 each. It’s been a very productive week here juggling several things, getting ready for the next consignment sale in April, and cleaning as usual. 
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 One January 2026

Welcome to Frugal Workshop where every Monday I share the simple strategies used to save money over the past week, along with the meals that made it to our dinner table. You'll find practical tips on how we saved money on food hopefully to inspire your own meal planning using the foods you have in your own pantry.

My Frugal Week

On Monday I took a rotisserie style chicken breast out of the freezer to thaw and centered our meals around it all week long. It’s high in protein, low in calories and very good for our dietary lifestyle these days.

On Thursday I opened a can of pickled beets and served them with dinner. I saved the juice and poured that into a wide mouth mason jar. I then added a can of beets that were not pickled to the pickled juice. I have a recipe located here on how to pickle a can of beets, but this will save a little money to reuse the juice from the can of pickled beets. 

We’ve used up many grocery items during the last month and the freezers and refrigerators reflect that. So, on Friday we went to Georgia to do our monthly grocery shopping. We went to UGO, Kroger, and Ingle’s, and I made sure to peruse the sale ads before going. 

On Saturday I made sure to go to Food City and buy their 32 ounce bags of cheese for $5 each with a limit of two. 

Photo of the Week

This is the bargain of the week. Carnation evaporated milk with jalapeños, found in the Christmas clearance section, for 41 cents. I bought six cans and used one of them to make queso dip for dinner on Saturday night. 

 

What’s for Dinner

Monday ~ Ham, Broccoli Casserole, Hash Brown Casserole. 

The ham, hash brown and broccoli casseroles were ones left from Sunday. Both casseroles were enjoyed by family at our get together and one person even asked me for the broccoli casserole recipe. 

Tuesday ~ Chicken Breast, Baked Beans, Rainbow Carrots. 

I sliced the chicken breast meat with my electric carving knife and served that for dinner. Using my vegetable peeler, I shredded the rainbow carrots we got for free from People Helping People and the Mennonites. I served this with baked beans as a second side dish. 

Wednesday ~ Chicken Breast, Hash Brown Casserole, Rainbow Carrots. 

Using more of the chicken breast, which I heated up for dinner as it is cold here. I served the last of the hash brown casserole and carrots as side dishes. 

Thursday ~ Chicken Breast, Roasted Sweet Potato, and Mixed Vegetables. 

We had more of the baked chicken breast for dinner, which I had with bbq sauce. Sides were roasted sweet potatoes and a bag of mixed vegetables from the freezer. 

Friday ~ Smoked BBQ Chicken, Pit Beans, Loaded Potato Salad. 

We had friends from Michigan in town and they treated us to dinner at a local BBQ restaurant, which was delicious. 

Saturday ~ Chicken, Queso & Chips, Salad.

Dinner was chicken, which I had over a salad and Bailey had over tortilla chips. The queso was homemade using one of the cans of evaporated milk with jalapeños. 

Sunday ~ Shrimp Stir Fry over Rice, Butternut Squash, Red Peppers, and Sliced Oranges.

Bailey told me recently that she wanted some shrimp and when I went to get the cheese on sale at Food City I found a package of shrimp on markdown for $3.01, so I bought one and made a stir fry with it for dinner. Sides were butternut squash, red peppers, and sliced oranges. 

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

First Frugal Friday of January 2026

Welcome to Frugal Friday
Each Friday here at Frugal Workshop, I love sharing the frugal wins, quiet savings, and simple strategies that helped us stretch our budget over the past seven days. It’s a gentle look back at the small things that make a big difference. 
My Frugal Week
Last week it was so warm here during Christmas that we were sorry we put plastic over the windows already. We would have turned the a/c on if we hadn’t had them covered. We were wearing shorts on Christmas because it was so warm. Pictures I saw of others get togethers showed many others wearing shorts too. We ended up opening the back door and putting a fan in front of it to help circulate air. 
The cold weather returned by the beginning of this week though with temperatures in the lower thirties. 

Last Friday I took down our porch Christmas tree and stored it back downstairs. We initially put it up because we thought about replacing ours inside with it, but we deemed the one inside to still be good enough for another year, so we turned our porch tree into a snack tree for all our delivery and service people. 
We saved the wrapping paper from our Christmas unwrapping to use as packing material for Bailey’s online business. She sells a lot of hard goods and needs all the packing material she can get. 
We played Dirty Santa at the family get together on Sunday. The gifts Bailey and I brought were a huge hit and claimed multiple times, which makes the exchange even more fun to me. 
Health & Exercise
Santa brought me a walking pad for Christmas this year. I was on it first thing last Friday and walked for twenty minutes and ended up with over 10,000 steps by the end of that day, which is one of my goals for 2026 to get in 10K steps or more every day. 
Saving on Electric
Well, we didn’t turn on the air even though we wanted to, so that’s a win for saving on the electric bill this week. 
Saving Money on Entertainment
Bailey and I had the best time after Christmas, which is the time of year where she takes the week off and we do fun things together. 
This year we went through all of our board games, especially the ones we picked up second hand in 2025, played them to determine if they were keepers or not, and placed any unworthy ones in the McKays bag to trade. 
We used to play games every Saturday night, but have let that lapse this past year. But we love it so much that we’ve decided to get back to this in 2026. 
What I've been Reading This Week

Struggling families warned of ‘devastating’ increases in heating costs this winter. ~ Those who use electricity like we do will see an average cost of $1,233, up 12.2% from last year. Yikes! 

In Conclusion …
Prices on several items remained higher than we were willing to pay in 2025. We stopped eating out as the price of restaurant meals, especially when compared to food cooked at home, were too high for our frugal hearts. 
In 2026 our frugal ways will be out in full force. We will strive to do even better this year than last year and I hope you’ll be here with us on the journey. We hope that 2026 is a good year for you with many blessings along the way. 
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