My Frugal Week

My Frugal Week

On Thursday every week I go through the Craigslist website and our local newspapers and add all the yard sales we are interested in and add them to my Google Maps app. I have two folders there, one for Friday and one for Saturday. I can cross each one off the list after we've visited it. This is so much more efficient than using a paper map. 
Last Friday we went to pick up my second set of glasses and stopped in at Ingle's to see what they had on markdown. 

They had beef and chicken on markdown. The chicken was $5.99 per package and has three huge chicken breasts in both packages while the ground beef has three pounds in each package for $5.99 each. We bought five of those.  

They also had bottes of Laura Lynn buttermilk dressing for 50 cents per bottle, so I bought two of those. 
On Monday we had to make a trip to the dr.'s office. Unfortunately there was a tree down across the driveway and we couldn't get out. After we got back to the house the FedEx man pulled into the and had moved the tree for us. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I love this time of year for all the fresh fruit and vegetables. We've been having fruit bowls this week with fresh watermelon, honeydew and cantaloupe melons, grapes, and strawberries.  
I took the leftover BBQ chicken and made it into a spread using cream cheese. It had so much flavor, and was good spread on tortillas and a good/different way to use up those leftovers.  
We used up the last of our tuna this week, so I bought more at Amazon. I really like the Starkist Lemon Pepper tuna and it's only $19.60 for 24 pouches on Amazon. 
We picked up several salads from Aldi this week. They are the perfect item to have for dinner on these hot summer days. 
We are having Internet issues here since all the leaves are on the trees now. We live in a very wooded area and in the summer time the leaves will block our Internet signal and make the connection go off and on all day long. I've had trouble posting this for that reason. So, this is a short post just to let you all know what is going on here. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Yard Sale Saturday

It's amazing what you can find when you source for second hand items consistently. Remember Amy Dacyczyn said, In order to find good deals it requires going to multiple yard sales because the items for sale are unpredictable.
Here are some things we found for ourselves this weekend. 
I do not include inventory for Bailey's shops in my blog posts. 

This is a set of Christmas lights that Bailey picked up to ask how much the lady wanted for them. The lady said, "$2.00" and Bailey started to set them back down on the table to think about it. The lady, thinking that Bailey didn't want  them, quickly said, "$1.00! I don't want to take anything back in the house". LOL...we both thought it was so funny. 

This was the best find of the day, a Dyson fan for $5.00. Back when Bailey was little I can remember looking at one of these fans at Best Buy and they were over $100 at that time, but they cost even more now. This one has a hot and cold setting. The remote control is missing, but you do not need it to operate the fan. 

Three Pyrex glass bowls with lids for $1.00 each.

A brand new unwrapped Uno Attack game for $1.00.

A brand new Yahtzee game and Scrabble game, brand new still in the wrapper, $2.50 for both. 

Six vintage board games from the sellers childhood. She wanted $10 for all of them. 

We like getting the vintage games because the game pieces are usually much nicer than the modern versions of the same games. Hasbro has retired the thimble, boot, and wheelbarrow in Monopoly, so any of the old ones you find now are retired. 

Some people sell them online like this one. Plus if you wanted to sell the pieces separately online sometimes they are worth more individually than the whole game. 

A new to us comforter along with a decorative pillow for $5.00. Bailey needed a new one for her bed since hers had worn out over the winter.

These are the highlights from yard sales here this week. How abut you? Were you able to get to any yard sales this weekend? What kinds of goodies did you find?

Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
Quote of the Week

“They suffered cold and heat, hard work and privation as did others of their time. Neither they nor their neighbors begged for help. No other person, nor the government, owed them a living. They owed that to themselves and in some way, they paid the debt. And they found their own way. Their old-fashioned character values are worth as much today as they ever were to help us over the rough places. We need today courage, self-reliance and integrity.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

My Frugal Week
Last month we replaced one of the air conditioning units in a bedroom. Our electric bill came this month and it is $20 lower than last month. I love having new energy efficient appliances that bring our electric bill down. 

This week we stayed home at least five days (six for me) and managed to get several jobs done.  Bailey went to a church yard sale on Thursday while I stayed home. She brought back several things for me. A brand new over the cabinet towel holder, Pyrex bowl with lid, and a Rubbermaid bowl with lid. The towel holder retails for $9.99 new, but we only paid $1.00.

One item we picked up at a yard sale last weekend was this Reliable digital steam press, which retails for $249.00, but we picked up for $40. I have always wanted a steam press with a bigger pressing area for sewing projects and Bailey's business, so this is perfect. 
Our cat Polka Dot is doing so much better this week. He finished his round of antibiotics, and is able to jump up onto his cat condo on the back porch and is walking on his foot again. 
Bailey picked up six Vera Bradley masks on their website for $9.22 with free shipping. We are still required to wear them at some places such as the eye doctor, family doctor, etc. 
I was finally able to get in on the health shares marketplace program using the subsidies that are in place right now. 
We had a grocery order delivered on Saturday, which included watermelon, honeydew, bananas, clementines, lettuce, tomatoes, red bell peppers, onions, sweet and Yukon gold potatoes, walnuts, almond milk, chicken, beef, bread, cheese, and frozen vegetables. 
We spent $227 and that is our big grocery shop of the month, which includes enough food for breakfasts, lunches, and around twenty dinners, which includes leftovers to cover the other days in the month. 
Our local county road department reported a loss of half a million dollars this financial year due to people not driving as much during the pandemic. I wonder what other trickle down effects this will have. 
In our Garden
We have tomato plants, oregano and mint growing this season. 
Earning Money
This week  I sold a Mike and Molly DVD on eBay. 
Did you hear about people who filed taxes early this year possibly getting a bigger refund if they were on unemployment last year? Well that happened to me and the extra money ($300) was deposited into my account this week.  Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I cooked seven out of seven meals this week. 
Meals This Week
Saturday: Dirty Rice, Steamed Carrots & Broccoli, Roasted Potatoes
Sunday: Taco Salad
Monday: Baked Potatoes, Seamed Broccoli, and Chopped Tomatoes
Tuesday: Chicken Fried Rice, Stir Fry Vegetables
Wednesday: Baked Chicken, Green Beans, Carrots

Thursday: Dirty Rice with Sausage, Stir Fried Vegetables, and Roasted Potatoes.  We bought the sausage on markdown at Ingle's last week. 

We had been using Tony Chachere's Creole Dirty Rice for our dirty rice when Cheryl, over at Cheryl's Frugal Corner, mentioned in a comment that Aldi has a dirty rice mix that was good. So, we picked some up and tried it  for dinner. I really liked the Aldi brand as it is not as spicy as the Tony Chachere's.
Friday: Baked Salmon, Brown Rice, Steamed Broccoli
Saving on Entertainment
This week I watched the last two episodes of This Is Us on Hulu and noticed that The Conner's has been showing up on YouTube. I watched a couple of those as well even though I have watched them on Hulu. 
Some people don't like to watch things again, but that doesn't bother me. I have watched most of the episodes of M*A*S*H, The Walton's, and Roseanne and I don't mind watching them again because I am content with what we have.  
What I've been Reading This Week
Frugal Living on the Ranch
That is all the news I have to report from here this week. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 

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Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 
My Frugal Week
It has  been a very busy week here. Our cat Polka Dot was bitten by another cat this week and had to go to the vet. He is home now and on antibiotics. He is still limping though, which I hope improves quickly. 
My glasses came in on Thursday and one pair was made incorrectly so they sent those back. The other pair works for my right eye, but not the left eye.  It does not correct my vision enough to drive, so I will need the surgery eventually. 
Last week on Friday and Saturday we went to multiple yard sales, twenty-four in all. Amy Dacyczyn calls this power Yard-Saling. In order to find good deals it requires going to multiple yard sales because the items for sale are unpredictable. 
Bailey was able to get inventory for her online stores and also several hard goods. 
I was able to get a Tupperware bowl, Rubbermaid pitcher, pinking sheers, several dish towels, wash cloths, one bath towel, pot holders, and dish cloths. 
We spent so much time yard sailing that the sales were beginning to close up towards the end of our day. Some people were giving stuff away for half off or even free. we got several things this way. 
Bailey has been looking for pots and planters to put her plants in and the yard sales did not disappoint her. 
It's so great to be able to yard sale again and find yard sale prices too. 
We stopped at Ingle's one day to pick up their Welch's grape juice, which was on sale 2 for $5.00. The same sized bottle sells for $3.68 at Walmart, so it was a good price. 
Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
I used up the last of my eggs and onions while making meatloaf this week, so I added them to the grocery list. We will be doing an order for groceries to be delivered on Monday this week. 
Meals This Week
Sunday: I had a family pack of ground beef thawing in the refrigerator, so I made meatloaf, meatballs, and Salisbury steaks out of it. I made my own gravy using butter, corn starch, beef broth and a spoon of sour cream. 
Monday: Meatballs, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables. 
Tuesday: Chicken Strips, Cole Slaw
Wednesday: Salmon Patties, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Vegetables.
Thursday: Chicken Sandwiches, Cole Slaw, Carrots
Sorry this is a short post, but I wanted to give you all a quick update. 
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

Frugal Friday

Welcome to Friday! 

A rose from Bailey for Mother's Day. 
My Frugal Week
During the winter months we keep our back porch covered for the cats in order to keep warm. In the spring we always clean up this area and we did that this past week. 
We also put out the cat condo we bought for them the summer before last.  You can see that Simba and Polka Dot have already claimed a spot on it. 

I did some mending on a cloth pad this week.
I did not buy any gasoline this week, although some people did due to the cyberattack on Colonia Pipeline this week. I still cannot drive, so I did not see the need to buy any gas. 
We are growing tomatoes on our back porch this year. 
Office Depot has Simply Tide in the 128 ounce bottle on sale for $6.00 this week, so we picked up two bottles.  This normally sells for $8.94 at Walmart, so that is a savings of $5.88. 
I purchased a Christmas gift and received $10 off the original price. I read about this deal on the Sales-aholic.com Deals, Glitches, & Free Things Facebook group. I peruse this group using common sense. 
The person I bought the gift for told me about wanting this item a few weeks ago, so when I saw a deal on the item, I decided to check it out. I'm very careful when I check out these groups not to be impulse buying.  
I listed at least one thing  for sale on eBay.
Couponing
Bailey has been couponing again and adding to our stockpile. She follows the hashtag #couponingwalgreens on Instagram for inspiration. If you're interested in following her, you can do so here: BaileyAlexInc. She usually posts her deals in her stories. 

Saving Money In My Frugal Kitchen
One morning I made a smoothie for breakfast and used up a couple of items from the refrigerator. I used up several slices of a beet and the last of some hibiscus tea. 
Meals This Week

Chopped Salad

Saturday: Taco Style Lentils & Rice, Tortillas, Mixed Vegetables, Red, Yellow, and Orange Peppers, and Beets
Sunday: Mother's Day/Birthday dinner was pizza from a local Italian restaurant. My choice.  

Monday: One thing that I like to eat is Dirty Rice and I have stopped in at Bojangles in the past to bring some home before. I've seen Tony Chachere's Creole Dirty Rice Dinner Mix online, but was unwilling to pay for the high cost of shipping it, so I waited. I found some at Food City last week and decided to try it for dinner tonight.  
Tuesday: Spinach and Strawberry Salad
Wednesday: Chicken Fajitas, Onions and Peppers, Mexican Rica, Mixed Vegetables
Saving on Entertainment
I've been watching Bates Motel for free on Peacock. 
What I've been Reading This Week
Dr. Michael Greger How Not To Diet
How was your week?
Belinda~ Living within our Means ~My Linktree

If you are encouraged by what you read here, please consider supporting this site. 

 1. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small percentage that helps me to earn a living. Any items you place in your cart from one of my links means I will earn a small percentage from that sale. 

 2. My Frugal Workshop PayPal Tip Jar