My Frugal Week

Welcome to Friday! We've had a good frugal week and it was great to be on spring break and get several things done around the house. 
Added to our Frugal Pantry this week:
Last Friday my daughter stopped in at Kroger and bought four dozen eggs since they were on sale for 88¢. 
She also stopped in at Ingle's to see if they had any meat markdowns. She hit the jackpot there. 
She found Laura Lynn orange juice for 99¢. We bought six of those since they were such a good price. 

She also found ground beef marked down. The prices were all different, but the most inexpensive one worked out to $1.81 per pound. We ended up with close to twenty pounds all tucked away in our freezer now. 



On Saturday we stopped in at Earth Fair to pick up some honey since we were out. I pick up one quart of honey, organic lemons, Numi three root turmeric tea, Numi gunpowder green tea, and one lemon plum to try. 

On Thursday we stopped in at Ingle's & Kroger and ended up with more meat for the freezer and a couple of pizzas, which were marked down . 

We also picked up three loaves of bread for 38¢ each. 

We also stopped in at Aldi to pick up five bags of the onions that are on sale this week for 99¢ per three pound bag. 

Dinners This Week:
Saturday: Chicken & Dressing, Carrots,  Sunday: Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Biscuits Monday: Cheesy Potatoes, Broccoli Tuesday: Chicken Tenders, Baked Potatoes, Broccoli Wednesday: Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, Green Peas Thursday: Loose Meat Sandwiches, Salad Friday:   Stayed Home/No Spend Days:
Monday & Wednesday - No Money Spent
What I Worked on This Week:

This cat cot sells for brand new on Amazon for $22.38, but we found one at a yard sale last summer and only paid $1.00 for it. 
The cats have loved it and actually wore a hole in the middle of the mesh, so they stopped using it.
I wanted them to have one that is useful, but I didn't want to buy a new one since we only paid $1.00 for this one. 
On Wednesday I had the time to patch the hole they had created. Using part of an old towel and some fishing line, I sewed a patch onto the cot from underneath. I sewed two different circles around the patch hoping it will last for a while.


I'm happy to report that the cot is now back in service with our cats. 
Other things I've worked on this week include:
- Processing Inventory - Cross Posting Inventory  - Laundry - Hung some up to dry on the free drying rack we picked up last summer. 
Unexpected Expenses This Week:
On Saturday the tire pressure monitoring system on my car indicated that on of my tires needed additional air pressure. Since we live in a rural area, air compressors are few and far between here, and the one I did find was out of order. 
Sunday morning I woke up early and went to Walmart's automotive center because they are the only automotive service open on Sunday here. 
To make a long story short I ended up buying a new tire. Thankfully, even though I am between paychecks I just happened to have the money without dipping into my savings account. 
Saved, Reused, & Repurposed:
I emptied the remains of two jars of cherry preserves, but washed and saved the jars to be used later. 
Freebies This Week:
This week I received a free six month supply of medicine for my blood sugar. My doctor filled out the forms for me to receive it for free. 

Although this freebie is now expired it was a very nice freebie. A regular size pouch of the Seeds of Change Quinoa and Brown Rice with garlic.  

Other Frugal Activities:

We don't use baggies very often for our sandwiches, but use reusable containers instead when we need a lunch packed for outside the home. Same with our reusable water bottles. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

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 ~

Frugal Friday ~ August 31, 2018

Sunday, Monday, and Wednesday we stayed and worked from home. The other three days this week I subbed, bringing my lunch & drinks with me each day. 
One item I sold on Ebay this week went for $107.50, which helped to pay some bills this week. In September I'll receive my first paycheck of the school year and things won't be so tight financially. 
On Monday I listed a few things on Ebay and cross posted multiple items on Mercari and Poshmark. I also cleaned several areas in the house. 
While folding laundry this week I went through all of my shirts and pants for work. I like to change them out from time to time and put the ones I've worn lately away for a while and pull out the ones I've had stored away . It makes me feel like I have new clothes to wear since it's been awhile since I've worn them.  
While I was cleaning out my dresser drawers, I took four shirts that are now too big for me and listed those on Ebay this week. 

We have finally figured out what was going on with our electric bill. We went from a high of 187 kilowatts per day down to an average of 74 kwh per day. 
You can see starting from August 9th, when we identified the problem, the daily kwh usage goes down each day as indicated by the green strips. 

Turns out lightening had probably run in through our electrical lines and caused the baseboard heaters downstairs to malfunction. 
We had to have an electrician/plumber come out and turn them off at the breaker box. And he was the plumber who installed our new kitchen faucet. The heaters downstairs are not fixed, but since we don't use that area of the house, it is not a problem right now. 
This has cut our electric bill in half and I suspect another reason the house was so hot this summer. 

On Thursday we went to Sears because they were offering a$10 off coupon on a $10 clothing purchase.  I was able to get this package of 6 pairs of much needed socks for $2.19. 

We also stopped at the Dollar General to use some $1.00 off Oral B coupons and picked up these 7 toothbrushes for free. 

And finally, on Thursday I bought gas using my new Exxon mobil rewards card, which has been collecting points all summer. Yesterday I cashed my points in and was able to get $15.56 in free gas. I love free gas! LOL
That's all the news I have to report this week. How was your week? I'd love to hear about it in the comment section. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday ~ May 25, 2018

My daughter and I were pet sitting in Chattanooga this past week. Her friend went to Paris on a school trip and needed someone to stay with her dogs. 

We love pet sitting for her as it gives us a free place to stay in the city where we have be closer to the things we enjoy and she gets paid for it as well. 

I found 3¢ on the ground at Sonic when I stopped in to use their restroom while doing yard sales on Saturday. 

McAlister's Deli sent me a free $5 off certificate for my birthday and we used it this week. We have a rewards card from there, which they have discontinued, but still honored.  

So, we ordered the Spud Max, a loaded baked potato, which feeds both of us because they are so big. I also ordered tea to drink and it cost us $3.39 with all of our discounts, which was not bad for dinner. 

We stopped in at Whole Foods since we were so close and I bought organic carrots for $3.99 for a two pound bag. I also bought some of their Watermelon Lemonade and it was so good. 

We finally arrived home late Tuesday night and stayed home Wednesday catching up on laundry. I worked on Thursday, which will be my last day this school year. After that I am on summer vacation. 

We have a pop up tent for the cats to use and we had it stored by our French doors. Somehow yellow jackets had taken up residence inside, so  we used wasp/hornet spray to kill them along with the remaining ones in the house. 

Keeping bug spray, wasp/hornet spray, etc., is a great way to save money over having an exterminator come into your home every month. It's one of those easy DIY projects. 

I earned another $5 gift card to Amazon this week from Microsoft Rewards.

Snapfish was offering a free 8x10 last week, so I ordered a print from my daughter's graduation. 

Walgreens was offering free 8x10s over Mother's Day too, so I ordered two prints from Walgreens. 

That is all the frugal news from this past week. How was your frugal week?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday ~ May 11, 2018

One day this week I subbed in a room with no microwave, so I brought my lunch in my mini crock pot, so it was good and hot when I was ready to eat lunch. 
This week I was able to sub four days having Wednesday off for my birthday. My Dad is in town for a visit too, so I will get to spend some time with him. 
Other Frugal Tips
It's been about two years ago now that my outdoor freezer tripped the breaker and we lost everything inside. 
At that time I cleaned it out and put in several gallons of water, which froze and remain in there to this day. 
The freezer used to trip the breaker regularly and I considered buying a freezer alarm. But the freezer has not tripped the breaker in all this time and I have to attribute that to the frozen jugs of water. 
It's a long time frugal hint to put jugs of water in your fridge, freezer, and toilet to help with efficiency. I have to say that it really works and has helped our freezer to be more efficient, not work as hard, and save money on our electric bill. 
Free Entertainment
I've been reading Food Budget Diaries over at the Kitchen. They are not always frugal, but some are fun to read. 
This week I perused the grocery store sale ads online. The schools have not been getting the newspapers lately, so online it is for now. 
I won't do a big grocery shopping trip right now as we are going to be pet sitting in Chattanooga for eleven days while our friend goes to Paris. I'll wait until we return to do a big grocery run. 
We enjoyed dinner out two nights this week thanks to free birthday dinners I received. I'll write more about those in this week's, What We Ate post. 
How was your week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Week of March 12, 2018

I worked two days this week and brought lunch & drinks both days. 
My daughter is doing so well with her reselling that she has asked me to join her. So, on Saturday I started helping her because business has been doing so well. 
On Ebay I listed several more items for sale over the weekend. One of them sold on Thursday for $19.99. 
We were able to get in on an Angel Soft toilet paper deal at Dollar General this week. We used a $5 off $25 deal, plus a $5 off $15 Angel Soft deal, and $1.00 off coupons for each package.  We bought 5 packages of 12 rolls each and paid 91¢ for each 12 pack, which was a 92% savings.
I downloaded several free health videos and sewing tutorials to my computer to watch at a later time. 
On Thursday I had the day off, so we took the opportunity to drop off my daughter's car at her uncle's auto shop to get the oil changed. He also rotated her tires for her and only charged her $20 for supplies. 
While we were waiting on her car we went to the thrift store and picked out several items to resell. 
On Friday night I made a large taco salad for dinner on Friday and Saturday. I like making enough of one dish to have for the next day too. 
How was your frugal week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Fun this Week

We've had a fun and frugal week this past week. 
We had so much rain the past week. School was called off at 1 o'clock on Thursday due to roads beginning to flood. So, I actually got off work early and headed to Chattanooga for a paid pet sitting job. 
We always enjoy pet sitting there. We get to stay in her house and love and enjoy her dogs.
She has awesome unlimited Internet and is close to many of the places we enjoy. It's like having a mini vacation and getting paid for it. 
We stopped in at Sears to get another free item using their Shop Your Way rewards program. I picked up another filter for our kitchen faucet. 
Auntie Anne's was giving away free pretzels on Saturday, so we stopped in to get one.  

We stopped in at Barnes & Noble and found they had planners marked down to $2, so we both picked one out. I also picked up a Zentangle book for my favorite art teacher for $2.
I sold two items on Ebay this week and made $10 on both items. 
I did not do any grocery shopping this past week since I knew we would be out of town. In fact, the lady we pet sit for bought fresh produce and said she forgot she would be out of town and to enjoy it ourselves, which was very nice of her. 
That was a wrap up of our week, how was yours?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~