Saturday Free Yard Sale

On Saturday we went to one yard sale, which was hosted by Crossroads Community Church. They host this yard sale every summer and everything is free.

In the picture above you can see several of the hard goods I picked up such as a tea cup & saucer, a pillowcase kit, brand new Pioneer Women place mats, a paper towel holder, a Matilda Jane water bottle, a metal food processor, a pink rug, several spurtles, storage jar, and Swiffer dry wipes. 

These were just a few of the things I picked up and I did get more things that didn’t make it into the picture. Things like a crossbody bag, more Keen shoes, fabric, basket, several pieces of jewelry and plenty of clothes. I just about filled my Hulken bag with clothing.

They had big ticket items too, but I didn’t look at those items as I was too busy looking at the fun stuff. They had a lot of furniture, bed clothes, pillows, and Christmas stuff, which I didn’t look at either as I was busy looking at things I enjoy. 

The crowd was a big one as you can imagine when everything is free, but was not overwhelming. Items did get picked up quickly and by the time we left was very much picked over. I thanked several of the volunteers on my way out for hosting such a terrific event in our community where people could get things they needed and not have to pay anything. 

It was a lot of fun, held indoors in the air conditioning, which was a plus. It was raining outside, so there weren't many yard sales otherwise. Bailey picked up several things for herself as well and had just as much fun as I did. 

Belinda 🫶 💕 Homemaker at Heart 💕 ~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree
~ She looketh well to the ways of her household ~Proverbs 31:27

Frugal Friday ~ June 5, 2020

Welcome to Friday!
My exciting news for the week is this...The United Grocery Outlet in Sweetwater had a contest on their Facebook page to win a free package of their Butcher's Blend Burger. 
I mentioned on their Facebook page that we had trouble getting hamburger down towards Cleveland and they mentioned the UGO in Cleveland had been talking about putting in a meat counter for some time now. That would be so terrific!  
I said all of that to say this: we won the package of meat! This is the first hamburger we will have had since we've been staying home due to COVID19. 

In other news this week...

When the shutdown for the pandemic first started and schools were closed, I tried to file for unemployment. The online system was bogged down so much so that I had trouble getting it to take my information correctly. So, I gave up and didn't complete my application. 
Then I spoke with my brother in law and he said he didn't think I would qualify for unemployment. In my mind I tended to agree with that statement, so I didn't bother even trying to apply again. 
This week I saw a post from one of the other substitute teachers here who is receiving unemployment benefits. So, I messaged her and sure enough, she is eligible for this for subbing. 
So, I filled out my application this week. She told me it took her about three weeks to start seeing any money, so if I do qualify for this,  it will be around the end of June for me if it happens. I'll keep you updated. 
On Thursday evening I tried a new recipe for Sausage Green Bean Potato Casserole. It had a lot of flavor and was a big hit. Here is the recipe if you're interested:
Sausage Green Bean Potato Casserole

Ingredients

1 & 1/2 lbs pounds sausage kielbasa or smoked sausage, cut into slices

2 pounds potatoes, diced

2 - 15 oz cans green beans, drained

1/8 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup butter

1 cup onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400° and spray a 9x13 baking dish with a non-stick spray.

Wash potatoes and dice. 

Add to a bowl along with oil, seasonings, pepper, and then stir to combine. 

In a large frying pan, add sausage and water and cook over medium high heat until sausages have browned and most of the water has evaporated.

Remove sausage from the pan and add to the bowl.

Melt butter in a frying pan and add onions and garlic, cook until onions are translucent.

Add to the bowl and stir to mix.

Add green beans to the bowl, stir to mix, then empty the contents into a baking dish.

Cover with foil and place in the oven. 

Bake for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

In other news this week, I unsubscribed from multiple emails that were trying to sell me stuff since I'm on a spending freeze right now. I also sold one item on eBay this week. 

How was your week? 

Belinda ~ 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.

Frugal Friday ~ May 15, 2020

Hello to all my readers! Friday used to be my favorite day of the week, but nowadays it seems like every other day. 
We did not shop for or have a pick up order for groceries this week. We have food here, which we've been cooking for meals, so no need to shop.
I've been getting creative with meals and yesterday made a Mexican inspired dish using chicken, Mexican Rice, cream cheese, cheddar cheese, chili beans, and corn. I lined my casserole pan with tortillas and then served this with mixed vegetables on the side. Everyone enjoyed it, which made me happy. 
We did pick up a prescription at Publix this week, but we paid for the order online and used the drive thru, so minimal contact there and the cashier did not have to touch my debit card. 
My daughter bought dinner for us on my birthday last Saturday. We chose a locally owned Italian restaurant. We had it delivered via a delivery service, so no contact there either. 
The local community college is offering several online courses for free. I've decided to take one of the classes to teach myself about WordPress. 
I made my first sale in my Etsy shop this week. I was very excited and wanted to say thank you to Jill, who is a blog reader. :) 
The Green Book

Image Credit

We watched The Green Book for family movie night this week. Set in 1962, the film is inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South by African American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley and Italian American bouncer Frank "Tony Lip" Vallelonga who served as Shirley's driver and bodyguard.
Gas prices remain at $1.29 per gallon here, although I've not bought any gas since last month since we are not going very many places.
Not shopping for supplies or going anywhere certainly saves us money. How have you been doing in the saving money department?
Belinda ~ 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.

My Frugal Week ~

Image Credit

Like many of you, we've stayed home every day this week due to the "stay at home" order. 

We are using up what food we have on hand, also like many of you, not going to the grocery store, and trying to be resourceful with what we have here. 

I took everything out of the pantry and cleaned and organized it better than it was before. 

On Monday I made up a new recipe for cheese dip. 

On Tuesday I made a double batch of Mexican Rice and included onions, peas, and carrots, so it had a lot of vegetables. I also used homemade chicken broth that I made and froze last week and used up some taco sauce that no one was fond of, but couldn't taste in the recipe. 

We had the rice for lunch that day with some tortilla chips and cheese. It is a very affordable and meatless dish to save money and stretch what we have on hand. I made a double batch, so we will use it as a filler for tacos one night this week too. 

               
I also made a batch of Bean & Cheese Enchiladas for dinner on Tuesday. This was also dinner on Wednesday along with a cheese quesadilla on the side.      

On Wednesday I made a batch of Banana Pancakes using up some bananas that were on the verge. Since I had my griddle out I used it to make the pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, and cheese quesadillas to go along with dinner. 

Other frugal things I've done this week include: 

We've been able to access the Tennessee Reads Overdrive website this week and watched Life of a King for free. This movie is based on a true story and was a really good film. 

Sewing...there is plenty of time to work on some projects. I also repaired several cloth pads for my daughter. 

We watched Ratatouille for our family movie night this week.


We also watched Historian Jerry Apps remembering his childhood in Waushara County, Wisconsin in Farm Story on YouTube. His story is told through his personal memories and photos from the community. 

Apps evokes memories of a time when almost as many Americans lived on farms as in cities, and examines day-to-day rural life. Fieldwork was done with horses, cows were milked by hand, lanterns were the source of light, and community was essential for survival.

How has your week been? 

Belinda ~ 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.

Free Audible.com during Coronavirus Pandemic

Audible is making hundreds of titles available for free during the coronavirus pandemic.Simply visit stories.audible.com from any web browser to get started. No log-ins, credit card or passwords needed.

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We've been listening to The Secret Garden this morning.

Belinda ~ 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.

My Frugal Week

Good Sunday morning to all my readers. What a week this has been. Like so many other schools across the country our local schools will be closed this week and were already scheduled to be closed next week due to spring break. 
This week I was scheduled to work every day, so that is more lost income for my household. However, we still have some income as we believe in multiple income streams here.  In the meantime we are staying home and waiting it out along with so many others. 
We are planning for the worst, but hoping for the best.  

Last Sunday I worked on making some scrunchies on my sewing machine. They are pretty easy to make and are popular once again. These would make a simple gift to give to someone and would use up some of your scrap fabric. 

On Monday morning I stopped in at Hardee's on my way to work and said "Happy Morning" and received a free sausage biscuit. 
On Tuesday we were invited to a birthday party at my BIL's home. I asked him ahead of time if he could fix the headlight in my car as it was out. He only charged me $6 for the bulb to fix it. 
This week I sold two items on eBay and am thrilled to have those items out of the house. 
My income tax refund came this week, which was quick as I only filed at the first of the month. I quickly paid my auto insurance premium and have left the rest in the bank. 
Saturday was the day I was going to get our usual monthly grocery order. But as the last few days progressed, items on my order were marked out of stock to the point that I decided not to fill the order. 
We will just wait until those items are back in stock and then fill the order. We have plenty of food here to make it through even if we need to get creative. We are used to doing that. 
And if we do run out of toilet paper I'll just cut up an old t-shirt and use that. I'm sure most people have a couple of articles of clothing they no longer wear and can use that. Necessity is the mother of invention and all that. :)
How are things in your area of the world?
Belinda ~ 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.

My Frugal Week

Although Monday was a holiday this past week, I was scheduled to work every day, but then inclement weather came and school was cancelled for two days. Ugh. This next week I have three days scheduled, so we will see what happens. 
Good news for us, we won a free steak dinner from Fresh & Low this week. There was enough there to split it between the both of us and it was delicious. 

This week I also won a contest from Kroger and won $25 worth of free groceries. They applied the balance to my Kroger card and although we've not been there yet, I'll post about it when we do go. 
This week I worked on saving money on our prescription drugs. I don't order them all from the same place as some places offer better savings. 
It is hard to beat the 90 day prescription drugs for $7.50 from Publix, so we have some there. Another RX I  get from Food City, but learned that Walmart will beat their price and save me $15, so I will make the switch this week. 

Food Lion has Oscar Meyer beef hot dogs on sale for $1.99 this week when you buy five. So, I stopped in there on Friday and bought five. 
Food City has Hunt's pasta sauce on sale for 69¢ each when you buy ten. So, I stopped in there on Friday and bought ten. 
We stopped in at the bread outlet and stocked up on bread and hot dog buns for the upcoming week. 

Payday came this week and my check was actually correct and included those missed days from last month. So, all the bills were paid this week. My car registration is also due at the end of March, so I went ahead and paid it too. 
How was your week?
Belinda ~ 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.

Free Today on Amazon Kindle: Save More, Spend Less

Save More, Spend Less

UPDATED FOR 2019: It is estimated that 45% of households have no retirement savings, and even fewer have an emergency fund. Add in debt from student loans and credit cards, and it's easy to see why the budgets of most people are stretched to their limits. However, there is help in getting your finances in shape! In "Save More, Spend Less!" author provides dozens of quick and easy ways to tackle debt, build savings, and save money on everything from home and auto expenses to groceries and entertainment. By implementing the tips and tricks in this book, you'll be on the road to financial security before you know it!

Belinda ~ 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.

Frugal Friday ~ December 6, 2019

“There is no dignity

quite so impressive,

and no independence

quite so important,

as living within your means.”

 ~ Calvin Coolidge

This week I worked four days and had Tuesday off. I used the day off to clean out a closet and work on Christmas presents such as hand warmers, key chains and felt food. 

Last Friday we spent the day with family before they went back to Florida. They treated us out to lunch at a local restaurant where I ordered my favorite, which is their patty melt. 
This week we snagged a free year of Disney as a reward from Verizon wireless. So far I've been catching up on some of my favorite Christmas movies. 

My daughter found a cat food deal from chewy.com this week. She was able to order four giant bags of cat food for only $18.00 total. Pictured above is our cat Scrappy with the boxes. 

Verizon sent us a $20 Amazon gift card this week for our one year anniversary with them.

I earned a $15 gift card to Amazon from Swagbucks this week. I used it as part of a payment towards a Christmas present. I also clipped a coupon on the Amazon website and received $23 off the product I ordered.

The Joy of Cooking cookbook that I won recently came in the mail this week.

Bojangles sent me a coupon via email for a free cinnamon biscuit for December from their Barnyard Calendar. If you live near a Bojangles and want to sign up for their Barnyard Calendar, click here. 

Each month they will send you that month's calendar to print along with a coupon that is good for the entire month. Best of all, it's free to join.

One day this week I cut up this shirt to reuse the fabric on something else. It's a beautiful fall print fabric. I also saved the ten pearl buttons that came with the shirt. 

I also repaired the hem on a dress for my daughter, replaced a broken snap on one of her cloth pads, and repaired another cloth pad that is simply worn out. She loves it though and is unwilling to part with it, so Mom to the rescue. 

Her and I finished posting two lists of clothing items for sale to both eBay and Mercari. As a result her sales have gone up and she was able to cancel a $50 monthly fee for maintaining the lists. We put our noses to the grindstone to get them done, and  the payoff was worth it in the end. 

We cooked every meal from home this week as usual. All lunches and drinks consumed this week were also brought from home. 

We've had to have the heat on at home several times this week. We keep the heater on 60, so I know when it clicks on that it's pretty cold in the house. Any lower than that and it's too cold for me. 


My Dad has moved back to Tennessee for the winter. The land he is living on right now does not have a driveway and he needs to build one. He asked me if I knew someone who could help him and I mentioned the person who does our garbage for us as he did a lot of yard work for us this year. 
He and my Dad worked out a great bartering deal. Timmy is going to help Dad build the driveway at $15 per hour, but instead of cash Dad is going to have Timmy work towards a truck and 5th wheel camper my Dad was going to sell. 
It's a win-win situation as Dad gets the driveway he needs and Timmy gets a truck and camper that he wants. 
This week I needed to order a clothing item online, and ended up getting free shipping and 50% off my order, which was a $32 savings. 
How was your week?Any frugal wins you'd like to tell us about in the comment section? We would love to hear about them. 

Belinda

~ 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 from Frugal Workshop.

Five Free Kindle Books on Frugal Living & Cooking

Good morning friends. 
Today there are five free eBooks on Amazon that I thought might interest you. 
Two of them have to do with frugal living while the other three are cookbooks. One of those is a Christmas cookie book I thought you might enjoy since it is that time of year. 

Habit Stacking For Frugal Living: 50 Simple Life Changing Tips To Save Money, Get Out Of Debt And Live A Happy Life 

Money Management: 6 Manuscripts: Learn Simple Tips To Help Save Money And Downsize Your Life Fast

50 Christmas Refrigerator Cookies – Icebox Cookies and Sliced Cookies For the Holiday

30 All American Recipes: A Complete Cookbook of US Dish Ideas! 

Copycat Recipes Box Set 2 Books in 1: Making Restaurants’ Most Popular Recipes at Home 

They've been offering several really good books this week. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Cheap Meals: How to Prepare Meals that are Simply Affordable and Nutritious

Another free eBook out today...

Cheap Meals: How to Prepare Meals that are Simply Affordable and Nutritious, written by Amanda Joly, is free today on Amazon Kindle.

Please make sure to check the price before you buy it to make sure it is still free.

From the Amazon website...

Do You Want to Attain the Secret to Eating Great Even On The Tightest of Budgets? If So, Listen Up...

Who Else Wants to Eat Better Than Ever By Putting These Cash-Saving Food-Shopping and Preparation Tips to Use -- You‘ll Literally Save Money Every Time You Visit the Kitchen!

I'm really enjoying these books on frugality and the price cannot be beat. I hope you are enjoying them as well. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Dirt Poor and Lovin' It!: Learning to live on minimum wage painlessly

Dirt Poor and Lovin' It!: Learning to live on minimum wage painlessly, also written by Kate Singh, is free today on Amazon Kindle. 

Please make sure to check the price before you buy it to make sure it is still free. 

From the Amazon website...

For everyone on fixed incomes, military incomes, minimum wage, disability, or social security. This is for families and individuals that want a quality of life on limited funds. This little book is packed with simple and fun advice to eat well and healthily, live well, have fun, beautify their homes, make their own laundry detergent, and ideas for urban farming. For less than a cup of coffee at McDonald's, you will have a great little money saving novelette.

I've enjoyed reading about her Home Economics book this weekend on frugality. I thought you might enjoy this one as well.
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Home Economics: How to Run the Whole House, Budget, and Garden

Image Credit

Home Economics, written by Kate Singh, is free today on Amazon Kindle. Please make sure to check the price before you buy it to make sure it is still free. 
From the Amazon website...

Want a fun book that teaches you how to run your home like a business...a cozy business, of course. Turn the kitchen into a cafe and your pantry into a grocery store. Grow your own organic produce and save tons of money. Learn how to budget like a pro without all the fancy financial spreadsheets. Make your house sparkly clean and charmingly decorated from thrift stores. Learn to love this job and become more creative with a tiny budget. Have fun and learn to slow down and be a bit old fashioned. This book will explain in detail every inch of house management and inspire you greatly. Brew up a pot of coffee and dive in.

I've enjoyed reading about her frugality. I thought you might enjoy it as well. 

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree