Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday!
My Frugal Kitchen
We had a grocery store pick up delivered this week, so we are stocked back up on food for the next month or so. 
We bought twenty pounds of ground beef and divided it up into twenty different bags and stored it in the freezer. 
This week I made two dishes that we ate on all week and then today I will be making a Broccoli and Carrot soup for dinner. 
Frugal Entertainment
This week we decided to watch Hocus Pocus for movie night. 
Other Frugal Activities
This was the week for making phone calls. I ended up calling on my auto, homeowners, and life insurance polices to adjust those and was able to get lower rates on all three. The savings on all three policies will amount to $1,077.12 over the course of the next year. I decided this was better for me as I'm not subbing right now and can revisit the issue when I do go back to subbing. 
This week I decided to trim my hair, which looks and feels so much better. 
On Sunday we will have Echo and Rambo here to pet sit for ten days, which will give us some extra income. 
This week I had a Roamans reward certificate for $10 that was about to expire, so I used it to purchase new undergarments, which saved me about half the price on those. 
This week I sold one item on eBay and listed another item for sale, which already has bids on it, so it will sell this weekend. 

Stolen Mail
Since we live in a rural area, our mailbox sits on a country road about 1/4 of a mile from the house. We can't see it from the house and last Saturday, our mail was stolen out of the mailbox along with three packages. Our Saturday mailman has a bad habit of leaving packages hanging out of the mailbox, which is why I think they were stolen. 
One of the packages stolen was for Bailey's allergy prescription medications. We had to make multiple phone calls this week to get those replaced. Since she needed those meds now, we ended up going to town to pick up her new RX. 
Another package that was stolen was from Wazoodle where I had ordered Zorb and PUL to make Bailey some new cloth pads. That was $35 worth of material, so I put in a claim to the post office for that. The other package was a book for Mom from Amazon, which cost $1.29 plus shipping, so Mom went ahead and replaced that herself. 
Planned Obsolescence/New Washer & Dryer
Planned obsolescence is an industry policy of designing a product with an artificially limited useful life, so that it becomes obsolete after a certain period of time. The rationale behind this strategy is to generate long term sales volume by reducing the time between repeat purchases. It is the deliberate shortening of a lifespan of a product to force consumers to purchase replacements.
We bought our Roper dryer in 2014, so six years of service. And our Roper washer we bought in August 2017, so three years of service. We had the dryer worked on this summer when it stopped working, but then three months later, it stopped working again. Rather than spend the money on another dryer repair, we decided to buy a new mid-priced dryer. 
The new dryer came with it's own set of problems. We ordered the wrong plug and they refused to install it with our existing dryer vent since it was not metal. So we have a repairman (the same on who installed our a/c this summer) coming on Monday to install it for us. 
Our Roper washer has had its own set of problems. The transmission went out on it before it was a year old, so the repair on that was covered by the warranty. This past summer it has gotten to where it will not finish a load of laundry without stopping before it's finished. 
We tried to restart loads where they stopped, which didn't work, so we tried starting them over and sometimes it would work, but not always. And the machine was not getting clothes clean like it should. 
So, we decided to buy both appliances new and in the mid-price range, hoping they would last longer than the Roper models. 

We originally order a new LG set, but Lowe's cancelled that set on us as they're having a hard time keeping washers and dryers in stock, which is true across the board for all stores. So, we ended up buying this GE washer and dryer. Let's hope this pair works for a long time. 

Since the washer still works, we've been washing things and hanging them to dry in the house. This will definitely save on the electric bill. Both appliances were bought with cash that was saved up for things like this. 
Whew! That is our week in a nutshell. How was your week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

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Saving Money on Hair Cuts

In southern Tennessee, where we live, it is hot and humid for more than six months of the year. My daughter and I are both hot natured anyway, so we like to keep our hair cut short to help stay cooler. 
We normally get our hair cut at Great Clips since they only charge $13 for a haircut, and even then we usually try to find a coupon to lower that cost. 
And some of my  readers may recall that we even had our hair cut at Super Cuts this summer for free. 
One thing I don't care for when getting a haircut is the time to drive to the shop, time spent waiting for a stylist, and the actually getting my hair cut. I would much rather be doing something else.
In our efforts to save even more money this summer we decided to buy a Wahl Pro Hair Clipper.  At the time we bought it last month it was only $18, but I see now that it is $22 on Amazon. 

So far we have used it enough times that it has paid for itself already. My daughter loves it because she can clip her hair whenever she wants to and does not have to wait to go to the beauty salon. 
So from here on out now we will be cutting our own hair and it won't cost us anything. I love that and the fact that I won't have to spend any time going to get my hair cut somewhere other than home. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

My Frugal Week

This week went by quickly! Here are some frugal things we've done...
- Earned $25 Paypal card from Swagbucks this week. 
- Earned $30 from Inbox Dollars this week. 
- The air pressure in one of my tires went from 30 to 15 in just under an hour one day this week and I knew I must have gotten something in it. 
I dropped it off at the auto shop where my brother-in-law works. He fixed it for me and didn't charge me for it. We tend to help each other out when we can. I recently gave him a twin size bed for his son who needed a bed. 
I'm very grateful to have him in our lives and also grateful that I didn't have to spend any money on this repair at a time when I am watching every expense. 
- Today I was looking through the Craigslist ads and found this...

- If you recall, I just stated the other day I was waiting for a sale or coupon on a haircut. Then this pops up on Craigslist. So, I made an appointment for both of us and we got our hair cut for free today. How neat is that? That saved us at least $26 plus tip. 
Be sure to check the free section of Craig's List where you live. You never know just what you might find. :)
My friend that occasionally gifts us with free food gifted us this past week also. We received multiple items for the freezer, corn on the cob, numerous baked items and bread items. 
I know in my heart that we have been blessed beyond measure and it especially feels so this week. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

My Frugal Week

Welcome Sunday.  :)
We are definitely enjoying our three day weekend here. Last week I was able to work every day, so I'm grateful for that especially after coming off a two week break at Christmas time. So far I am working two days out of a four day week this coming week. 
Here are some things we've done to save money this week:
- We definitely needed hair cuts this past week, so off to Great Clips we went. The price these days costs $13.00 for a haircut, but I had a coupon for one haircut for $8.99 and then I had a receipt from Walmart that I had saved for a haircut for $10.99. The employee actually let me use both coupons, which they have not let me do in the past. So I saved $6.00 on haircuts this past week. 
- I ordered my daughter a pair of jeans online. They cost $44.99, but I was able to save 25% off using a coupon code, which took $11.25 off the cost, and then used a promotional certificate they sent to me for $10.00 off, so I saved $21.25 off the jeans. $23.74 was the final cost, which is much cheaper than buying them at Torrid, where they run upwards of $100 at times and I find the quality lacking. 
- I've been actively working Swagbucks again this month. I have already earned enough for a $25 Paypal credit, which will definitely come in handy. If you're interested in earning from Swagbucks, you can read all about it on my Swagbucks page here: Frugal Workshop Swagbucks Page.

- We ran across a sale on Kool-Aid recently at Food City for 10¢ a pack, so I stocked up on Lemonade, Fruit Punch, and Black Cherry, which are our favorite flavors. 

- I received a free bible from the Tyndale Rewards program recently. You can sign up for the program here and earn 25 points when you join. 

Do you remember Amy D writing in the Tightwad Gazette about the last Woodstock and how so many young people left behind their possessions? This binder reminded me of that. 
It was discarded by a senior before Christmas Break where I was subbing that day. A brand new binder filled with brand new paper  inside in perfectly good condition. I brought it home with me that day. Unbelievable!

I received my Betty Crocker calendar in the mail not too long ago. 

Lunch today was whole plant based foods. Broccoli, grape tomatoes, orange slices, and a banana. Water to drink. Getting my nutrients in for the day.  :)
How is your Sunday?
Belinda Living within my means 

Affordable Hair Cuts

I currently have in my possession, three five dollar gift cards from Great Clips. They were given to me when I took my Mom, daughter and myself to get haircuts a couple of months ago. 

They were having a grand opening sale and haircuts were priced at $4.99. I paid for three haircuts and received three gift cards, therefore it was like receiving those haircuts for free. 

I also have a postcard they sent in the mail for a haircut for $6.99. The postcard expired on January 26th, but with all the bad weather I just haven't been able to get out for a haircut. 

Today my daughter and I went and finally got our overdue haircuts and used a couple of these rewards.

I asked the cashier if we could still use the postcard and she said yes. Yay! She also let us use one of the $5.00 gift cards.

Haircuts at Great Clips have went up to $12.oo each now. 

Haircut #1 was $12.00 minus the $5.00 card, $7.00. 

Haircut #2 was $6.99.

Total for both haircuts was $13.99 plus tip. 

Make sure to sign up for the mailing list on the Great Clips website and like them on Facebook to get in on these good deals. Right now they are selling future haircuts for $9.00 each. They usually do this every February. You can buy as many haircuts as you want and they put them all on a card and you keep the card all year long and use as needed. 

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Saving Money on Hair Cuts

The other day after I had checked out at Walmart, I noticed a coupon on the back of my receipt for a $7.99 haircut at the Smart Style salon located inside Walmart.  

Getting a haircut was on my list of things to do that day, so I stopped in and asked if they could cut my hair and they said yes, so I had my hair cut that day for $7.99. You know I love getting a bargain, and what a great deal that was.

Lucky for me, more than one coupon printed on the back of my receipt that day, so I took my daughter in yesterday for another haircut for $7.99.  In fact, I also have two more coupons that printed that day, so I have two more to use since they are good until the end of the year. 

Be sure to check the back of your Walmart receipts to see if you can find a similar coupon.  And be sure to like them on Facebook and check out their website for future offers. 

Smart Style Salon on Facebook

Smart Style Salon Website

Belinda
© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Great Clips

Last time I wrote about Great Clips was to let my readers know about the free Schick razor and coupons they were giving away in June. 

In my post I mentioned that I used a coupon for $7.99 they sent to me in the mail.

Great Clips offers haircuts at a very affordable price. An adult haircut costs $13 while a child's haircut costs $10. Right now they are offering a promotion to win free haircuts for one year. 

You can enter the promotion here: Free Haircuts for a year

Entering the promotion should get your name on their mailing list, which means they will be sending you coupons in the mail for haircuts at reduced prices. 

We received another coupon from them in the mail this week and took advantage of it yesterday to get our back to school haircuts. I saved $3 off one of our haircuts with the coupon they sent. 

Every little bit I can save for my family helps us out financially.

Belinda