Menu Plan Monday

Good Monday morning! 
In no particular order these are the meals I’m planning on making this week.
Sticky Pineapple Chicken, Basmati Rice, BroccoliSalmon Patties, Mashed Potatoes, Green Beans & OnionsTacos, Cheddar Cheese, Tortillas, Lettuce, Tomatoes, OnionsFajita Baked Chicken, Corn, SaladsHomemade Chili, Corn Chips, Shredded CheeseChili TacosBailey's Big Mac Pizza
We already have all of the ingredients on hand to make these meals. What’s on the menu in your home this week?


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Happy New Year ~ Goals for 2022

Image Credit
Financially speaking, we may be in different places. If we're on the same page that's great, but even if we're not we can learn so much from each other. 
You may or may not need the frugal living tips that I share, but like we used to say on the old AOL Tightwad board, take what you can and leave the rest. Researching, studying, and learning from each other is how we will grow the most financially. 
If you're looking to make changes financially in 2022, make this the year that you invest your time learning new ways to save money and really learn about frugal living. A new year can be your fresh start and all you have to do is take the first step. 
Read blogs, websites, and books about frugal living. Join one or more of the hundreds of frugal living groups on Facebook.  Check out movies and books from your library on the topic.
Although we may already know many of the frugal tips that are shared, rereading them will help you to stay motivated in the new year. I know many of my friends reread the Tightwad Gazette every year for inspiration. 
Some of my goals for the new year are repeated from years past and for the new year include:
- Buying only what I truly need- Living within my means - Increasing my income and savings  - Avoiding consumerism - Living debt free 
One of my goal's for many years was to avoid consumerism. When I did go into a store this year after Christmas even I was surprised at how many things I saw that I hadn't seen before. That's what staying out of the stores will do for you.    :)
Finally, I want to share again Bailey’s post from last year saying goodbye to 2020. 

Goodbye 2020

Photo credit: Facebook/Heather Goodwin

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday #5 of December 2021

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
It been a quiet week here. There were storms on Tuesday and Wednesday evening with high winds, but no issues here. 
Joy of the Week
My joy this week was watching Bailey open the gifts I picked out for her. One of them was a game (Wasabi) we’ve wanted for a few years now, but was too expensive. That is the gift I made an offer for on eBay. She was VERY surprised when she opened it. I love giving gifts like that. We’ve played it several times already and have really enjoyed it. 
Question of the Week
What do you think of an air fryer? My new grill has an air fryer feature, so I wanted to ask what you all thought of them. I can tell the food does not taste deep fried, but understand that the food will be healthier cooked in the air fryer. 
Avoiding Spending
This week I avoided spending any money on the after Christmas sales. I did need to get some ibuprofen though, so I ordered that from Walmart.com. Bailey has a Walmart Plus membership, so there was no shipping charge. I have an Amazon Prime account, so between the two of us we don’t pay shipping on these two retailers, which saves us money and keeps us out of the brick and mortar stores. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
By Monday I was getting tired of Christmas leftovers and started to freeze some of the things that could be frozen. But then on Wednesday I was glad to still have some at least for breakfast. 

Drinks this week include lots of water as usual and also some hot Hibiscus tea at breakfast time. I do have a glass of iced tea (decaf & unsweetened) with dinner, but mostly drink water. It’s good for me and saves money. 
Meals This Week
Friday ~ Christmas Eve: Italian Beef, Appetizers including BLT Dip, Tuna Pate, Jalapeño Popper Dip, Cheeseball, and for fun we made s’mores afterwards. 
Saturday ~ Christmas: Hashbrown Casserole, Broccoli Casserole, Dressing, Sweet Potatoes, Brussel Sprouts, Croissants, and Cheesecake. 
Sunday: Christmas Leftovers (and I’ve started freezing some at this point)
Monday: Grilled Hamburgers on my new Ninja Indoor Grill. Also, Hash Brown Casserole leftovers, and all the Hamburger fixings like lettuce, tomato, pickles, cheese, and onions. 
Tuesday: Grilled Better Cheddars, and the last of the Hash Brown Casserole. I am loving my new Ninja grill.
Wednesday: Grilled Chicken Salads
Thursday: Cheesy Potatoes, Green Salad
Saving on Entertainment
On Christmas Eve we watched the movie, Santa Claus, which is one of our favorite Christmas movies. 
We also watched the new Disney Encanto film. 
That is all the news to report on our frugal week in Tennessee. Thank you for dropping by, you are always welcome here. We would love to hear about your week in the comment section.
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

 

Monday Musings ~ After Christmas Savings

On Monday we needed to run errands, but were stopped when we came across a tree down and across the driveway. We tried to move it ourselves, but it was still attached near the ground, so we had to call for help. We called a couple of people who could help us, but it would be a few hours before they could come out. 
They finally came at 6 p.m. and got the tree moved. 
Even though it was late for running errands, we went out anyway. 
First stop was Walmart where Bailey wanted to look for a new tree and Christmas cards.
We went to three different Walmarts, and all three were already out of trees, cards, and wrapping paper. Not that we need any wrapping paper, but I did notice there was none left.
No worries though, it was just fun to get out of the house and being so late there wasn’t very many people in the stores. 

Bailey did find a hairbrush set. She bought me one for Christmas and paid $5.00 for it, but this one was 50% off, so she paid $2.50. 
She says now she wished she had waited to buy mine. 😂 

She also found two advent calendars for cats where every day has a can of cat food in it for 24 days. She paid $10 each and bought two of them. So she got 48 cans of cat food for $20, which works out to be 42 cents per can. Walmart sells these size cans for 70 cents, so this is a savings of $13.44.
They also had bags of M & Ms for $1.60, so she got one bag of those and some Harry Potter ornaments as well. 
As for me, I looked at all they had to offer, but didn’t see anything that I needed, so I didn’t spend any money. It was fun to look at what was offered this year though. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Self Care Sunday ~ The day after Christmas

Image Credit: Sesame Street

Here it is already the day after Christmas. We did the best we could to stretch the holiday out as long as possible yesterday in order to enjoy the moments as long as we could. 

Rather than opening our presents at the same time, we watch as the other person opens their gift and if we're lucky we get to hear a story about the gift such as where we found it or how hard it was to find. 

Two of the gifts Bailey gave to me were ones she found thrifting and at a yard sale. She was sure I had seen one of them this summer when she picked it up, but it was before my eye surgery and I didn't see a thing. She had wondered all year if I had seen it or not. LOL

In opening our gifts this way we get to enjoy the holiday even more by making it last as long as possible. 

Fleeting moments happen so often that we want to stop and cherish moments like these. We don't know what the future holds and don't know if this may be the last time we're able to celebrate and we want to cherish moments like these. 

I hope all of you who celebrate had a  wonderful holiday filled with peace and love.

Today is Self Care Sunday again. One of the presents I received was an electric toothbrush, which can be had for as little as $5.00 these days. I absolutely love it. It's like brushing my teeth elevated to a new level. It's the perfect way to utilize  self care regarding oral hygiene.  

I'm also spending part of the day doing my own laundry, folding and putting it away, which is another way of taking care of myself. It ensures I have the clean clothes ready for when I need them.

We will be spending today at home, enjoying the food of which we have plenty, and watching Christmas movies and playing some new games we received for Christmas. 

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday. :)

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree