My Frugal Week ~

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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.

Frugal Friday ~ November 15, 2019

Welcome to Friday, I hope you've had a great week. 

My daughter and I were out of town last weekend to attend the wedding of a friend. We stayed overnight two nights and used the trip to scour the thrift stores in Atlanta. We found several things we needed and a couple of things we wanted. 

We did eat out a couple of times while we were there. One day we came through Atlanta and saw the Secret Service while President Trump was in town. That night we ate at the Folk Art restaurant, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, so that was really fun and the food was great. 

This week I was back to work at school and worked three days, although the weather threatened two of those days. We did end up with a two hour delay one morning. 

This week I did some mending by reattaching two buttons that were safety pinned onto a blazer we picked up at the thrift store. I also sewed up one hole in a pillow created by one of the dogs we pet sit. Also, I've been working on and sewing some presents for Christmas. 

We've put off shopping for groceries and are using up what we have in our pantry and freezer. One day I even mixed up some powdered milk to have rather than go to the store for some. It always surprises me what meals we can come up with by using what we have on hand. 

I've been making an inventory of what food we do have on hand. It helps me to create meals when I can look at a list of the food available. This week in anticipation of grocery shopping, I perused the grocery store sale ads online. 

Cold weather arrived here this week and even though we dressed warmly and were covered up with blankets, we finally had to turn the heat on due to the cold weather. One morning it was 17 degrees outside, so definitely heater weather. That morning we had to salt the steps leading up to the house because they were icy. 

My plans for the weekend include laundry, grocery shopping, and sewing. I also have some computer work to do for my dd's business. 

Next week is our last week of school and then we have a week off for Thanksgiving. This year we will be going to my BIL's house, which we didn't think was going to happen as he had a house fire in October. They are living in a rented house for now and he wants us to come celebrate with them. Naturally I'll be bringing several dishes with us to share. 

I hope you have a great weekend! 

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.

Pantry Management

Frugal Workshop Pantry Photo 2013

My grandmother's idea of a pantry was to fill everything to capacity. Her pantry was overflowing with canned goods and boxes. 
Her home had three freezers and she filled them to capacity. One of them was so full it did not even close because it had so much food inside. 
My grandfather's bedroom was filled with boxes and boxes of foods they had canned over the years. 
There was so much food there that when they both passed away the food was thrown away including the jars, unfortunately.   They both grew up during the depression and so it was understandable that they worried about food security. 
If financial hard times ever came around again they didn't want to worry about having enough food to eat. 
I understand why they filled their home with food, but believe there is a better way to handle having so much food using some pantry management. 
They could have benefitted from Amy Dacyczyn's "Use It or Lose It" calendar. She inventoried her pantry and then created a calendar based on how much time she had left until her next harvest, and then divided the food equally among the months left.  This system insured that she would use everything in her pantry and not lose anything. 
Her point was that people who lack control over any area in their lives need to design systems to manage these areas effectively, which in the end will save you money. 
One of my pantry goals has always been to eat what we have on hand and rotate the food so we are using up the oldest food first. 
One thing I do is to not fill our pantry so full that we cannot organize it and tell what's inside. That was one of my grandmother's problems. She had so many items in her pantry that it was hard to find what she needed. 
So, one of the best tips is to organize your pantry. In my own pantry I keep all the like items together. All my green beans are together in one section, same thing with tomatoes, etc. 
That way when I am planning my shopping list I can tell quickly if I need an ingredient and can avoid buying something I already have. I don't make emergency runs to the grocery store. I either do without or make something else. 
Every few months I take the time to check and see what we have on hand. This helps me to use up items that are nearing their expiration dates and I can use them up before they expire. 
Also, I rotate the items I have on hand when we unload new grocery items. We move the older items already in our pantry to the front and put the new items behind the ones we already have. 
Recently I installed an app on my phone called "Fridge Pal", which allows me to scan the items in my pantry and also list the expiration dates. And then it will send you a notification when an item is about to expire. It's still new to me, so I've not decided how well I like it yet, but I will keep you updated. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Bean and Cheese Burritos

Yesterday I put two pounds of pinto beans on to soak overnight and today I cooked them along with an onion in my pressure cooker for fifty-five minutes, so they would be good and soft enough to make refried beans. 

Afterwards I scooped some out and mashed them with my potato masher to make them into refried beans. 

Then I warmed a tortilla in the microwave and place some beans on each tortilla. 

Afterwards I added the toppings each person wanted. On mine I placed cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, and taco sauce. Other good toppings would be onions, black olives, and jalapenos. Even some Mexican rice would be good in one of these. 

Then I rolled them up...

They look as good as anything from Taco Bell, right?! My daughter says once I duplicate the cheese sauce on the Taco Bell burritos I can say that. LOL

I didn't use all of the bean broth, so I made sure to save it as I can use it for other things later like a soup base. 

My daughter even made brownies for us to enjoy afterwards. 

That's what's for dinner at our house tonight. What's for dinner at your house?

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle ~ It will help you save money"

Frugal Saturday

The weather here in Tennessee yesterday was wonderful. It was a cool fall day and perfect for yard sales. 

Here are a few things we picked up:

One pair of skinny jeans for $5, one pair of capris for $5, three pairs of shorts for $3 each, three shirts for $2 each, one pair of like new OPI sandals $1, and one American Eagle jacket for $4. The pants and shorts are all name brand. 

All of these are for my daughter. She was thrilled with all of it, but especially the American Eagle jacket. And the flowery shirt in the front will be perfect for a dressy event she has coming up at school. 

A brand new, still with stickers, double wall cup with lid and straw. We like these cups because they have the lid and they keep drinks colder for long periods of time. These cups retail for $5 and up at most retailers, but we bought this cup for 25¢. We still can't believe the person sold it for that amount. 

Other things we bought, but are not pictured are two boxes of thank you notes for 25¢ each, and a thermal blanket for $3, which was needed for the living room as the blanket I used in there has been permanently borrowed by my daughter. lol

Since I was in town, I decided to stop at Bi-Lo and Cooke's to check out their crash and burn items. I couldn't find any at Bi-Lo, but I was glad I stopped in anyway. Looked what I scored:

These are 30 count bags of tortillas for $1.19, but see the coupon attached? I carefully read it to see if it would double, since Bi-Lo doubles coupons up to 60¢, and I figured it would, so I tried it and it worked. That coupon doubled and gave me 70¢ off each bag, so 49¢ a bag...what a deal. I'm so glad I stopped in there today. Always be on the look out for peelies to see if you can score a good deal on an item.  

My other bargain of the day came from Cooke's. Their crash and burn cart was filled with one pound bags of black eyed peas for 50¢. If you look closely you can see the 50¢ on the package. This was such a great deal that I bought ten bags. I love finding great deals like this so I can feed my family inexpensively.  

These two items were the only food items I bought on Saturday. 

Once we got home I got busy cleaning, hanging our laundry up to dry, and doing some things in the kitchen.  

I made sure to put the onions I bought this week into pantyhose and hung them in the pantry. I mentioned in a blog post a while ago that I would let you know how my experiment turned out. 

Storing the onions in panty hose, where the air is able to circulate around them definitely helps to keep them longer. The ones I bought and kept in the original mesh bag sprouted after one month, but the ones I stored in panty hose lasted four months. As a result, I will be storing them this way in the future.  

If you don't have any panty hose, Walmart sells knee highs for 30¢, which is what I used in this photo, so one of these would only cost you 15¢. Not a bad price to help keep your onions longer. 

I do have one frugal fail to mention today, if you are interested. I scored this 42 ounce canister of oatmeal at a yard sale today for 50¢. I was  actually kicking myself because if I had gotten there sooner, I could have gotten all three that he had for sale. 

When I got it home I looked at it closely and it expired in 2009. I should have looked at it closer when I was buying it. Now I will have to Google non food ways to use up oatmeal. lol

We are on Fall Break this week from school/work, so I am looking forward to getting a lot of things done. 

How was your Saturday? Did you find any good bargains?

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle ~ It will help you save money"

Final Day Triple Coupon Deals

Saturday was the final day of the Bi-Lo triple coupon promotion. Here is a photo of what we were able to purchase:

One of our deals today was Hunt's spaghetti sauce, which was on sale at 10 for $10.00. I also had 6 coupons for 55¢ off two cans, which were tripled, so I bought 12 cans. 

Spaghetti Sauce

Cost before coupons: $12.00

Coupon amount: $9.90

Cost after coupons: $2.10

Cost per can: 18¢ per can

Yesterday I bought the pasta and today I bought the sauce. Imagine how inexpensive our spaghetti meals will be for the next few months with free pasta and 18¢ sauce. I love triple coupons! :)

The following three items were completely free after coupons:

We were able to pick up one more box of the Barilla pasta for 24¢, so we now have two of those in our pantry for a total of 48¢.

We picked up 4 Dannon Oikos yogurts, which had 50¢ off coupons on them. They were originally $1.19, but the coupons tripled, so those were free as well. 

Other items include 2 bottles of Dawn for 75¢, and 6 boxes of Puffs Lotion tissues for $1.00 each. 

 In all I spent $128 in the past three days at Bi-Lo and saved $90.00 with coupons. This was a rare coupon promotion from Bi-Lo and not one we normally see here. I suspect it was because we recently had a brand new Publix grocery store open up in our area in the last month and these two big giants are competing for customers. 

Either way, it pays to be aware of the sales cycles. We had heard chatter online about Bi-Lo doing this early last week, and we always get the newspaper on Wednesday for the sale ads and sure enough the chatter was correct. As we were checking out last night, our bag boy asked the cashier, "How are these people getting all this free stuff?" It pays to be aware. :)

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

End of the Month Pantry Inventory - July 2012

During the month of July I was able to stock up on canned green beans, elbow macaroni,  carrots, bologna, and cheddar cheese. In all, I spent  $224.36 on groceries in July and have a full pantry going into August.   Finances will still be tight for us in August as I do not get my next paycheck until September 20th, so we will continue to plan menus around food obtained inexpensively and what I have stockpiled. 

Last night I made a trip to Bi-Lo and was able to pick up five boxes of elbow macaroni for 50¢ each, a sale which lasts until 9-11-12, four boxes of cream cheese for 99¢, and two cartons of eggs for 88¢. As I was shopping I thought to myself that people who had little money could easily plan menus around the macaroni and the eggs. All it takes is a little creativity in the kitchen. 

Here is a list of my pantry inventory going into August:

Pantry Inventory July 2012

Canned Soup

Broccoli and Cheese – 1 can

Cheddar Cheese – 2 cans

Cream of Celery – 1 can

Beefy Mushroom – 9 cans

Cream of Potato – 2 cans

Chicken Noodle – 4 cans

Chicken & Rice – 3 cans Family Size

Vegetable Beef – 3 cans Family Size

Onion Soup Mix – 4 boxes

Tomatoes

Diced Tomatoes – 6 cans 28 ounce

Diced Tomatoes – 1 cans

Whole Tomatoes – 4 cans

Tomatoes – 3 quarts home canned

Tomatoes – 27 pints home canned

Tomatoes with Green Chilies – 2 cans

Tomato Paste – 2 cans, 1 jar

Tomato Sauce – 11 cans

Pizza Sauce – 3 pints home canned

Spaghetti Sauce – 1 can

Institutional Cans

Spaghetti Sauce – 1 can

Pizza Sauce – 1 can

Salsa

5 quarts – home canned

3 pints – home canned

3 jars

Canned Fruit

Pumpkin – 3 cans

Fruit Cocktail – 1 can

Pear Halves – 3 cans

Apple Sauce – 4 cans

Mixed Fruit – 3 cans

Peach Halves – 5 - 29 ounce cans

Vegetables

Potatoes – 3 cans

Hominy – 1 can

Corn - 2 cans

Creamed Corn – 3 cans

Green Beans – 12 cans

Chop Suey – 3 cans

Peas – 3 cans

Yams – 2 cans

Beets – 2 cans

Canned Beans

Field Peas – 1 can

Pork & Beans – 4 cans

Black Eyed Peas – 5 cans
Refried Beans - 5 cans

Miscellaneous

Evaporated Milk – 2 cans

Sweet Condensed – 2 cans

Peanut Butter – 4 jars

Sweet Pickle Relish – 2 quart jars

Pickles – 2 jars

Canned Meat

Salmon – 5 cans

Tuna – 2 cans

Tuna – 1 can (small)

Chicken – 1 can

 

Instant Potatoes

1 box

Pasta

Spaghetti – 6 boxes

Linguine – 2 boxes
Penne Rigate - 2 bags

Macaroni – 8 boxes

Wacky Mac – 1 bag

Baking Mixes

Snicker doodle Cookie Mixes –1

Brownie Mixes- 4

Pumpkin Bread mix - 1

Rice

White

 1 pound bags – 4.5

2 pound bags – 1

5 pound bags – 1

Brown

1 pound bag – 1

Dried Beans

Soup – 2

Pinto – 3

Jell-O

Cherry – 2

Orange –8

Lime – 4

Miscellaneous

Oats – 18 ounces - 1

Popcorn 1- 2 pound bag

Bread Crumbs – 2

And, off the top of my head, here is a list of possible meals I could make in August just from my list. 

Possible Meals


Meatloaf
Bean & Cheese Enchiladas
Beefy Baked Beans
Beanie Weenies
Chili
Chili Mac
Chili Tacos
Enchiladas
Enchilada Casserole
Macaroni & Cheese
Pork Roast
Salmon Patties
Smoked SausageSpaghetti
Tacos

Of course, there are several more meals that I could add to this list especially since I have a lot of pasta and eggs on hand. I will be adding to my pantry and freezer as sales permit and my menu will change accordingly. Keeping track of what food I have in the pantry helps me save money by using up what I have on hand.

How is August shaping up in your home?

Belinda

© Belinda Richardson and Frugal Workshop, 2012.

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”

Use It Up

One of the ways I save money in my kitchen is by keeping an inventory of items in my pantry. I try to be mindful of the items located there and use them up before they become outdated. Tossing items that are no longer useful because I’ve let them go bad is a waste of my money, and something I strive to avoid. 

Last summer I came across a great sale at a local store for various crash and burn items. Everything was 5 for $1.00 and I happened to find 3 boxes of Lipton tea bags in the 16 count box. 

I’ve had these in my pantry since then and haven’t used them because they are not decaffeinated. My daughter and I do not sleep well when we drink caffeine, so I avoid it at all costs during the school year when sleep is essential. 

Since school is out now and sleeping in is an option I am now in a position to use these tea bags. And so, this week I've made 3 gallons of tea using these tea bags.