Saving Money on Essential Oils

Bailey originally shared this on her Instagram account and I thought it was really good and wanted to share it here. If you would like to follow her Instagram account, you can do so by clicking here. 
Written by: Bailey
Robbers essential oil is awesome! 
It’s the same blend as Young Living Thieves and much more affordable. 
I just ordered my third bottle off eBay (much cheaper than their Amazon price). 
We’ve been diffusing it every day since the pandemic started. 

There is something so satisfying about a diffuser running. I keep one running in every room especially since the pandemic got going. ⁣ ⁣ The first one I ever got was from my mom for Christmas. She got it on the Young Living website along with some oils to try.  Since then I’ve picked up almost every one I’ve seen at yard sales and thrift stores. I’ve never paid more than $5 and I even got another Young Living diffuser.⁣ ⁣ It’s been about 5 years of running it every night and the first one I got for Christmas has stopped working. All of the thrifted ones are still going strong.⁣ ⁣ I feel like there is so much merit to shopping second hand. We are giving an item new life and stopping it from potentially ending up in a landfill. Many times thrifted items are older and have stood the test of time meaning they are great quality.⁣ Not sponsored, just wanted to share ⁣ Do you have diffusers running in your home? What’s your favorite oil essential oil? Also, what items do you always pick up when you see them thrifting? Bailey ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

Good Monday morning to all my readers. Today you'll find a brand new podcast on Anchor. 
This is my second podcast and it's all about shopping the second hand market. 
The Frugal Workshop can even be found on iTunes now with our first podcast.  If you'd like to listen to the podcast on other sites just click the Linktree here or in my signature. 
Come back tomorrow and you can read a transcript of the podcast. I hope you enjoy listening. :) 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

My Frugal Week

This past week I was able to work two days and packed lunches and drinks both days. Both days I took my laptop with me to crosspost while I was working. This week I'm scheduled to work three days. 
Another task I accomplished while working was to sort out coupons and stapled like ones together. Doing this while I'm working saves time for me to do other tasks when I'm home. 

We went to Walmart on Thursday afternoon. We stopped and looked at the 50% off Halloween candy, but didn't buy any candy. We did pick up some bread and garlic chicken lunch meat on markdown. 
We went to several yard sales on Saturday even though it was a cold 34° when we left home. 
In my bedroom I have a lamp with a pull string chain and love the ease of of the pull chain. I've been wanting one for the table next to my chair in our living room.  

I've looked at the lamps at Lowe's and found one for $54, but decided to wait and see if I could find one second hand. Yesterday was the day! We found one for $1.00. I've already been using it and love it so much better than the lamp with the rotating switch. 
Waiting to buy the things we need or even want second hand helps us save money in our home. 
We also found a set of over the ear headphones for $1.00. I like these better than the in ear headphones and they are much more comfortable. 
November is here and I know I've been thinking about our Thanksgiving menu. I've been writing down what we plan on having and will be looking for sales on those items. I already picked up some dressing mix on closeout. 
How was your week? Frugal or no?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Consumerism & Second Hand Market

One of my goals every year is to avoid consumerism as much as possible. Consumerism, to me, is shopping for entertainment, going out and buying things that we don't need, or buying things we cannot afford on our budget.

Consumption should be based on satisfying basic human needs such as shelter, food, clothing, and healthcare. Of course, consumerism encompasses different things to different people. Your version of consumerism may be different than mine and that is alright.

Many people believe they work to make ends meet, but upon closer examination of their households reveal they spend part of their income on unnecessary items or even name brand items when they cannot afford them.

My goal is limiting consumerism as much as possible. For example, shoes with name brand labels are not needed in order to take a hike. Board game pieces made from marble don't make the game any more enjoyable than a game played with plastic pieces. 

Around here the Yeti tumblers have been the go to item in recent years, and the price of those is quite high. We don't have Yeti tumblers here, but we each have a tumbler equivalent to the Yeti. And we bought them in the second-hand market for $1.00 each.

In our household we use things up and use things until they no longer useful. Such as a favorite bowl that develops a crack in the side. I will use it until it is no longer useful.

I used to have a non-smart phone that I had for years. There was no reason for me to replace it because it worked great. Some students at school would actually talk to me about how obsolete it was, but in reality, the phone was in perfect working condition and would stay charged for days.

When my daughter finally talked me into using her old smartphone you would have thought I won the lottery by the student’s reactions at school. Even today I will get a comment about getting a "new" phone even though it's not a new phone.

We shopped the second-hand market when my daughter bought it and she used it for a couple of years before she passed it on to me.

We shop the second-hand market for things we need and in doing so are not purchasing items made with new materials for the things we need. This practice not only helps us to save money, but is also good for the environment because we are not using new virgin materials to have something made for us. 

The second hand market is wonderful for trying to live this type of lifestyle. We love to shop at flea markets, garage sales, and thrift shops for the things we need first. And we even like to dicker with the sellers. 

These days I strive to be less of a consumer. If, as the experts say, we have to spend money to keep the economy flowing they can count our household out of that equation. It may not be for everyone and that is OK, but I am content with my life. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Yard Sale Saturday

Amy Dacyczyn wrote an article about power Yard-Saling one time. In it she wrote about how in order to find good deals it required going to a lot of yard sales because the items for sale were unpredictable. 
My daughter and I utilize this strategy on a regular basis. She maps out a yard sale route on her phone and we follow the path. 
Yesterday we ended up going to twenty-two yard sales. We love going to yard sales and consider it free entertainment, so our time is not wasted since we enjoy it so much. 
Not every yard sale is a good one however, and we certainly found our share of duds yesterday. 
When I post my yard sales finds, I only post mine. I don't post the ones my daughter selects for her reselling business. 
Here are the items I picked up yesterday. In all I paid $12 for these items and had a lot of fun in the process. 
Tupperware bag $3.00...

Fabric Box $2.00 - This held much more fabric, but I wanted to highlight the cute Halloween fabrics. 

Ribbon Box $2.00 - Such a great find! These would cost me $2.00 each in the fabric store. And these are so cute, my daughter loves the sock monkey ribbon.

New Towels $3.00 for the stack - I will be using these in my sewing projects. 

Fabric & binding $2.00

Items from the free box...
Two small Halloween bowls...

A White Barn Candle Company candle...

A package of new CD/DVD sleeves...

Two free bowls...

That's it for yesterday, not the best day, but also not the worst day either. 
Any yard sales in your area yet?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~