I made my own granola, yogurt, steak sauce, bread crumbs, saltines, and wheat crackers. I stored the bread crumbs in canning jars (using old lids) instead of putting them in a ziploc bag. Three of these items will be on the website soon with recipes.
I cut the buttons off of several items of worn clothing and added them to my button jar.
I used two buttons from the jar to replace missing buttons on two different items of clothing. I mended one and my oldest daughter mended the other. I also told her how to mend another item of clothing, which she did, so three things were mended this week.
I picked all of the rest of the lemons and the handful of grapefruit from the garden before a strong freeze. We normally only go to 28ºF here, but this weekend we are supposed to get down to 20º for several days. This does not bode well for my citrus trees. We have covered them with blankets and fabric and pinned it on with clothespins (I did not purchase burlap for this but just used what I have). I am hoping that they make it through.
I read a book that I purchased at a garage sale last fall for $1.
I made homemade hair detangler.
 |
| Ivory's favorite finger food is peas. She also picked up lentils and broccoli this week. |
What did you do last week to save money?
Last week wasn't as productive as the week before but it IS still progress in the right direction. Here's what I managed to get done:
ReplyDeleteMade another batch of laundry detergent.
Mended my husband's work pants instead of throwing them out.
Cut my husband's hair.
Made a double batch of chocolate chip muffins. My husband and children take them for their lunches. I usually freeze half of them and then pull them out of the freezer as needed during the week. I substituted oil again for the butter since it's cheaper.
Made my weekly meal plan based on the grocery store flyers. I do this every week but it's worth repeating. Buying in season and on sale is the best way to keep your grocery spending under control. And since we're losing an additional $30 per week in new taxes, I need to further reduce our food budget.
I placed my seed order for my 2013 garden. I'm also finalizing my plans for an herb garden and will most likely buy those in plants instead of seeds since they'll be ready to harvest quite a bit quicker.
I borrowed a few books from the library including "Grow Your Own Drugs", which I loved! I photocopied many of the pages but hope to buy the book when I earn more Amazon.com gift cards through Swagbucks.
The only full bathroom in our house has been ever so slowly undergoing a remodel. The previous owners spackled and painted over wallpaper and my husband has been slowly working on fixing the walls. We're finally at a point where I could paint and to save money I thought I would use paint I had leftover from the girls' room. I love the color but absolutely hate it in the bathroom. It's a good thing I only cut in before I discovered that. I'll be purchasing a gallon of paint this week. Yes, I could save money by using the paint I have, but I'd never really be happy with it in the long run!
Two of my children were invited to birthday parties for their friends and we used what we had on hand for gifts. One child received a clay necklace and matching earrings that we made and the other child a rubber stamp set I got free from my cable company's rewards program.
And lastly, we stayed home all weekend. We kept ourselves busy with the football games on TV, played board games, baked cookies, and painted pictures.
You can see pictures here on my blog:
http://lisajoseph.blogspot.com/2013/01/my-frugal-accomplishments_13.html
I love your gifts for your children's friends.
DeleteI think you have to love the paint color :)
I agree that it is better to love the paint color, but a number of times, I have used paint that I did not care for as the "first coat" many times, & then used the paint I want as the "finish coat". Of course, that only works if the "finish" paint is darker than the "first" coat! Much of the paint I use comes from freecycle.
DeleteI have added leftover white paint to another color to change it up a bit. I ended up loving the "new" color.
DeleteMiss Ivory & Momma's photography is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIvory is getting so big, what a cutie! Time fly's. My Frugal accomplishments? Oy, realizing how much we are wasting on groceries, working on a schedule to meal plan for the first time. I will be teaching my daughter these things, once I get them figured out :-)
ReplyDeleteMy frugal accomplishments for this week are:
ReplyDelete- keeping the thermostat set at 66 degrees.
- I used my $50 gift card for purchase groceries and some new socks/underwear that were desperately needed. I've lost 2 pants sizes and they would fall down.
- Since i've lost weight all my jeans were way to big. I found a pair of forgotten, new condition blue jeans in the back of my closet that fit perfectly now. I found another pair on clearance and broke down and bought a pair. I donated the pairs that no longer fit.
-Downloaded several books for my kindle for free
-Except for going to work and the above mentioned shopping we stayed at home.
- Did not eat out again this week
- line dried a load of clothes. I only have one small rack, I will be putting up more lines somewhere in the house today, just not sure where :)
- Washed all but one load of laundry this weekend during "off peak" hours in cold water and full loads
-cleaned the house with my homemade, all natural cleaners
- I will be doing a lot of mending today. I have put it off for a couple weeks to get other stuff done
-Took leftovers to work for breakfast and lunch
-used pantry items instead of running to the store
-printed some coupons off the internet for food items we use a lot
*and I agree, if your remodeling a room you need to like the finished product. You might as well buy the paint you like now rather than wasting paint/money to just buy it later anyways :)
This is all I can think of now.
Thank you for hard work and effort!
I'm always looking forward to this post every week.
ReplyDeleteHere's our frugal stuff for this week:
1. Cut my husband hair.
2. Made every meal from scratch and brought lunch to work and school all week.
3. Bought Pork Shoulder Roast at 0.99/lb, lettuce head at 1.00, cherries- 2.00 for a bag, 1.69 for 9 bananas,
4. My husband canned homemade spagetti sauce.
5. Dehydrated banana and strawberries that was too wrip for my liking.
5.
Accepted a LOT leftovers from my husband's vocational school (bureaucratic nightmare this year; we think they were trying to bribe them all into contentment).
ReplyDeleteCombined those leftovers with leftovers my parents had sent with us from New Year's dinner to feed the missionaries. The only thing that cost us was the dessert (homemade, of course)!
I downloaded almost $70.00 worth of free things on Kindle (well, I have the PC app). 9 back issues of Backwoods Home magazine, and an e-book each about pressure canning, "homestead cooking", and food storage.
My husband repaired "his" car, and changed the oil in his and "mine"; the repairs alone saved us $150 minimum, compared to taking it to the shop. His "hourly wage" for doing it himself was $50.
Mrs. W,
DeleteCan you share the names of the canning books? As well as how you were able to download the back issues of the magazine?
Thank you
Kimberly B.
Mandy, my dad installed a retractible clothes line in my garage that works great! I bought it online at Walmart for about $9. You could install one on a deck or back porch as well. Allison
ReplyDeleteThank you! I forgot about those. I will definitely look into it. We have no basement or attic or laundry room.
DeleteIkea has a great folding clothes rack that can easily handle a load (perhaps not sheets) and that you can keep indoors and put away when not in use. We don't have a dryer so the racks have been great. I don't recall how much they cost but we would definitely need a dryer without them.
DeleteE.
About a year and a half ago I saved up my pennies and bought a wonderful tripod drying rack through Amazon. It can be moved from room to room (while empty) and can handle sheets! Love it! Here is the link. It is a bit pricey but worth each penny! In the winter I keep it in the room with our fireplace and the clothes dry quickly! Folds for storage. http://www.amazon.com/Household-Essentials-Portable-Umbrella-Style-Clothes/dp/B001H1GUXW/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1358221163&sr=8-5&keywords=tripod+clothes+drying+rack
DeleteI made two different kinds of semolina bread to use up semolina flour in my pantry. As I cleaned my kitchen cupboards, I was able to see what needed to be used and made a plan. I tried 5 new recipes this week to use up things! I also stayed in my $50 weekly grocery budget which saves money on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to see those recipes!
ReplyDeleteThis week I boiled water on the stove to humidify the air in our home, and I made a quarter batch of brownies instead of a full batch, because we didn't need that many.
I love that you made only what you need (good for the waistline too) but wanted to share that I've had great luck freezing brownies. I generally make a double batch so that we eat one and freeze one. You can use foil to line your pan (make a sling) and the brownies will come right out of the pan. Use wax paper to line your foil after you pop cooked brownies from the pan...wrap the whole thing in the foil you used; then freeze. I find that the wax paper keeps things from turning soggy but honestly, you may not even not that. You should be able to clean and reuse the foil once you pull from the freezer and you may be able to reuse the wax paper as well.
DeleteWe are empty nesters so I often make a batch of brownies and then wrap each one in plastic wrap and then put them all in a freezer bag. They can go straight from the freezer to my husband's lunch box that way. They taste fine after thawing.
DeleteI have a long list at my blog - it was a great week!
ReplyDeletehttp://tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com/2013/01/this-weeks-frugal-accomplishments_11.html
I tried to type things up this week as they happened to remember more. Here are my accomplishments.
ReplyDeleteStripped cloth diapers rather than buy new expensive detergent
I accepted a box full of miscellaneous fabric. It took quite a bit of sorting and washing, but now I have a fabric stash to draw from for small projects
I’ve done lots of sorting, purging, and organizing this week. Knowing what I have will keep me from buying things I do not need.
Planned meals using what was on hand
Stretched ground meat with pinto beans for tacos and used homemade seasoning.
Made split pea soup using the ham bone my dad gave me at Christmas. I made homemade rolls to go with it. We had some of the leftover rolls for breakfast the next day with homemade apple butter and peanut butter.
I saved the scraps from the soup veggies in a bag in the freezer. I will use them the next time I make broth.
I saw seeds were out when I was at the store. I bought a few packets to use when it is time to do the early planting (kale, spinach, Swiss chard, and peas).We are in zone 5. It seems we always miss getting the early crops in. I am hoping having the seeds here will make it easier, plus our garden is established this year. There were some seeds for 35 cents per pack. I got 2 packs of lettuce and thought of Brandi. I will get my money’s worth from those!
When I was in the area, I stopped at an outlet store for the generic drug company. We were out of a lot of the over-the-counter meds we use after we all had the flu. I can’t stand to pay full price even for generics because I am used to paying their prices (90 cents for a bottle of children’s liquid acetaminophen, for example). I picked up some things for my mom, too.
Baby was still having diaper issues, and I almost broke down and paid $15 for a package of “cloth diaper” detergent. Before I did, I talked with a friend who cloth-diapered her children. She also makes soap. She made me some special bar laundry soap to grate for my homemade recipe. She swears this will do the trick. She also gave me some of her handmade body cream to try for his skin. She is only asking I pay her cost for these things, but we will figure something out.
My husband is trying to lose weight. He is exercising at home and eating normal food, just watching his portions. He is choosing snacks carefully and I am baking fewer treats. Dieting can be expensive, but it all comes down to eating fewer calories than you burn in order to lose weight. He is doing very well, and it isn’t costing us
I made granola.
We had a covered dish dinner at church. I baked some cookies with refrigerated dough I got for pennies with coupon after Christmas. I also brought a salad that I like but makes way too much for my family. We were able to enjoy it and share it without having waste.
My Mom always used shortening on sore diaper bottoms and it really works.
DeleteBrandy, those crackers look yummy!
ReplyDelete-Hung all laundry to dry, & to add moisture to the air to help against the flu rampant in our neighborhood & ward, since virus live longer in dry air.
-Baked 2 batches of gluten-free orange cranberry muffins to use milk that needed utilized before it spoiled. Froze some of the muffins for later, & froze the last cup of milk as well, since 36 muffins are more than enough for us for a while, even if I take a dozen to the grandchildren.
-Made turkey vegetable soup from the pantry & leftovers. I put in 1 pint of bottled turkey chunk in broth, plus 1 pint of green beans, 1 pint of carrots, 1 pint of mixed summer squash in tomato sauce, 1 half pint of tomato sauce, 1 tsp of dehydrated parsley from our front beds, & some onion powder. I added about a cup of leftover roasted potato chunks & ½ cup of leftover frozen mixed vegetables. This is one of my “standard” pantry soups, where I bring up 5 jars from the storage cubby & dinner is ready in half an hour. It went very nicely with the leftover muffins, & was perfect for a cold winter day. We had a quart of soup left over, to eat another night this week.
-Bought 6 pkgs of ground turkey from the meat mark down bin, for $1 each. I used one pound to make a meat loaf, & another pound to make a crock pot full of chili. I froze the other 4 one pound packages for future meals. The meat loaf provided 4 meals for us.
-Dragged 2 more curbside Christmas trees home to use for mulch on the beds that need acidified.
-Carried out the kitchen scraps to the garden & threw them on the top tier, where they were instantly “buried” under 15” of snow. The freeze/thaw cycle breaks them down well by spring.
-My $15 Amazon e-card for completing a survey finally came & I added it to my account. I will probably use it to help pay for a birthday present for a grandchild.
-Took 5 bags of donations to Deseret Industries when I had an errand in Provo. I bought 2 Avon eggs with birds on them, 1 with cardinals & 1 with robins, & a set of red Matrushka nesting dolls, all of which will be presents for granddaughters. The nesting dolls will go with the American Girls Book 1 of the Rebecca series, in which the heroine Rebecca, an immigrant from Russia, plays with a set of these dolls. I already have the books (all 6), for a granddaughter named Rebecca, so I was delighted to find the nesting dolls, & they were even in red, like the illustration in the book.
-Rearranged the closet in the master bedroom so things fit better. I bought a 6-cubicle storage unit on sale, & placed it under my tops & jackets, & shifted the double shoe rack I had there before over to Steven’s side, where it holds his shoes & a couple of boot boxes filled with other items. I waited for 6 months for the unit to go on sale, because I was not willing to pay full price.
-Sorted through all of our photo boxes. I always had doubles made, on Tuesday when it was free with developing, so I could send some to my mother in Ohio. She passed away this past June, & everyone else uses digital, so I no longer need doubles. I discarded all duplicates (except for baby blessings, weddings or baptisms) & any blurred or less than perfect photos, & was able to reduce down to by almost half. I now have more space in 2 closets.
-Ran a thin stream of water in the kitchen to keep the pipes from freezing in our below-zero weather.
Marivene,
DeleteHi what a great list. I just found out I need to eat gluten free.
I was wondering if you would share any of your recipes or blogs
you use I bake every thing from scratch so I was hopeful someone
had some great ideas. My budget is very small as I have not worked
much in 5 years because of my health,fragrace allergies etc.
I have a grain mill that I could grind my own flours as the special ones seem very very pricey. I made a fruit crisp with
oats after you mentioned it on here. I am feeling much better since I stopped the gluten.
Thank you sooooo much,
Patti
My email is below if that is easier.
just_forkids@yahoo.com
Marivene,
DeleteDo you run the trees through a machine or cut them up? What do you do? I've considered keeping the trees for this, but I'm not sure how to do it since I don't want to rent a tool. Today is the last day for our city to pick up trees so it is a great day to gather some if I'm going to.
Penelope
Patti, I use a lot of recipes from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook site. They have a gluten-free tab, & the one who posts the GF recipes also grinds her own flours, so you would probably do well with those. The orange/raisin muffin recipes is here:http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2013/01/orange-raisin-muffins-gluten-free.html You can also make crisps with any fruit - they are really good with berries, & have replaced pies for us for Thanksgiving dinners.
DeletePenelope, Christmas trees are shear quite often to produce a LOT of small branches, so the branches are not usually very thick. I use pruning shears & a lopper to cut up the branches. I prop the trunk for a couple of years to dry, in a corner of the "barked area" out of sight, then cut it for our small woodpile. We hope to put in a small firepit eventually, & so I am building a small woodpile to use in it.
Marivene, May I have the canned squash in tomato sauce recipe? Thanks, Holly
DeleteHolly, I no longer give out my mixed summer squash recipe for canning, because the USDA has come out for the last 10 years saying that neither zucchini nor yellow summer squash can be safely pressure canned. I put it up for our family for 40 years before they decided it was not safe, so I still do it. You can make the same thing with frozen chunks of mixed summer squash, tossed over the meat, with a 1/2 pint to pint of tomato sauce on top, & either onion powder, dehydrated onions, or cut fresh onions. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over top & bake for 1-2 hours at 350 degrees until the meat is done. It is good over pork chops, chicken, or lamb steaks, & you can also mix cooked ground meat in with the veggies & bake it that way.
DeleteHolly, I no longer share the recipe, since 10 years ago the USDA decided that pressure canning zucchini & summer squash was unsafe. However, I put up for our family for 40 years before that, so I still do it. You can use frozen chunks of mixed squash, & tomato sauce instead.
DeleteNative, would you be willing to email it? Alissacu@hotmail.com
DeleteToday on Mennonite Girls Can Cook, they posted a recipe for gluten-free yeast buns, with 2 variations. Gluten-free & yeast together are hard to find, so I thought I would bring over the link for those of you eating gluten free:
Deletehttp://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/
Here's what got done this week:
ReplyDelete1. Double cooked 3 meals (one for that night and one for the freezer) for when our baby boy comes (due the 22nd!)
2. Mended two items of clothing and a stuffed bear who's seam popped
3. Worked on our 3 month food storage plan to help cut down on food costs
4. Tried to consolidate trips into 'town' so I'm not running back and forth multiple times.
Thanks for this weekly post. It really motivates me to try and do a little more each week to save money.
Howdy! I remember those temps in LV when I lived there back in the late 1980's. Not much happened last week but it was frugal.
ReplyDelete-Went to a store closing and bought 32/ 1 oz sticks of string cheese for $3.40-about 16 cents each. Put them up in freezer.
-Started using powdered milk in cooking, baking and coffee.
-Recieved from DMIL a dz. hard boiled eggs, 1/2 gal. of milk, a gaint tub of butter/marg. and a pkg. of lunchmeat.
-Helped a friend set up a new home with things from my pantry.
-Ate from stock pile and left-overs.
-DH changed the oil himself in my mustang instead of taking it down to dealership. He is learning.
- Dry cleaned sweaters myself w/ not so old materials I had. Cha-Ching!
-Turned the themostate down in the daytime to 66 and had fire in wood stove 5 out of 6 days. It turned warm here again in NC this past weekend but the cold is on it's way.
Have a blessed week and I look forward to those recipes.
Would you mind sharing how you dry-cleaned your sweater?
DeleteThanks
amanda
Amanda,
DeleteMy "not so old materials on hand" was a box of Dryel sheets (6 of them) I bought at least 5-6 yrs ago (w/ a coupon that was tripled) and the bag from the first kit bought over 8 yrs. ago. The sheets were still wet and only used 2 of them to clean 10 sweaters. I also have HE dryer that was a big help. I also have HE washer that has a steam cycle but have never but want to use- I don't know what to put in it to clean sweaters like the manual states I can do. Does anyone have any ideas?
Thank you for your reply. I have used Dryel in the past but have been unable to find the sheets in my area. Could you write or call the manufacturer and ask them what to clean the sweaters with?
DeleteI hope your trees make it! We were -5 this morning which makes me start to worry about some things around here too.
ReplyDeleteFrugal things for this week.
Made muffins cinnamon rolls for lunches/breakfasts. I used cranberries I had bought after the holidays and oranges on sale.
The children are having oatmeal fatigue.
Made all our breads.
Made a 9 lb bone in ham from our freezer last 4 meals for our large family. After using the bone for soup, we gave it to the dogs. I still have broth to use for soup this week.
Combined trips to save on gas.
Kept to my budget so far (monthly so hard to tell for a little while yet)
I still have store credit from gifts returned a while ago. I was able to combine sales and promotions and coupons to make it go farther. We bought shoes and socks that we needed. I still have quite a bit left.
Kept to my menu except for one meal, but used leftovers to pull together a soup for that one. So it worked out even better.
My 5 year old was invited to a birthday party. We were able to find things from a gift stash to give her. (I couldn't have shopped for another reason, we were digging out of snow!) But my gift stash in now depleted and I will have to do something. Since I have mostly girls, I try to keep those types of gifts handy. I will be making some zipper bags (I found clearanced zippers a while back and was able to use a coupon as well to make them even less) and looking for nail polish sales and getting manicure tools (walmart had them for about a dollar) for some of them. Has anyone seen free nail polish deals or samples anywhere?
Starting to make my seed starters and plan the garden.
Accepted leftovers from a family event.
Penelope
The last time I saw a coupon that was for a package of mail files (making it free) I opened the package and included one nail file with one container of nail polish (.04) for the gift.
DeleteYou may like some of my free printables as gifts (paper dolls are great gifts for little girls). If you don't have a color printer, use the black and white ones that are meant to be colored.
This may not help now, but in the after Christmas mark downs, I found some manicure sets for .64. They include fingernail and toenail clippers, tweezer, nail files, and a cuticle stick. I bought 2 thinking we could use them ourselves or gift them.
DeletePenelope, I was just at Kmart this morning (not sure if you have one near you) but they had these cute lip gloss sets for girls marked down to $1.24 each. I bought 3 to add to my "gift bin". They had nail polish ones too!
DeleteThank you everyone!
DeleteBrandy, I was thinking about the paper dolls earlier. My daughter can print on campus for $.08/color page I think (much cheaper than at home!), so I was thinking of putting them on a thumb drive and asking her to print out several sets. I thought it might be fun to do a coloring book set as well and I could add crayons or markers with it.
Theresa, what a deal! Where did you find that? We didn't see big markdowns right after Christmas here. I looked some, but was rather busy to look much more.
Lisa, I will scout out Kmart. Thanks for sharing.
OH, and I have to add, that I did find a Christmas markdown item, only 50% off, but I was able to get it and have it saved for our family gift exchange for next year.
Penelope
Walmart always puts their children's lip gloss and nail polish sets on clearance after Christmas. I didn't think their after Christmas clearance was as good this year as it has been in the past.
DeleteLast year Revlon had a coupon for their beauty tools out about every couple of months or so. Sometimes the drug stores will have a sale on beauty tools at the same time making the nail files free or almost free. Sally Hansen also sometimes has a coupon for their beauty tools and nail products.
I am also glad you will be posting the recipes. Thanks! I really like the crocheted tablerunner (or doily) in the picture. It is beautiful. Is it handmade?
ReplyDeleteOur weather was beautiful (70's and low 80's) all week. We really enjoyed it and I know I will hate to see the return of cold weather. At least, hopefully, the heating bill will be less.
I cleaned out the fireplace and used the ashes on our compost pile.
I unravelled a cotton men's sweater I bought some time ago at a yard sale. This was not a fast process, but I did get a lot of yarn to use for potholder, hotpads, and angel dishcloths. I made several sets as I had to wait at two different doctor's appointments.
I bought recipe cards and note cards for twenty-five cents each at Micheal's. I will put these in my gift box.
I got free bacon at Dollar Tree by using an internet coupon.
Our tv broke and I tried to fix it. Long story short, I am not a tv repairperson and it wasn't economical. Hopefully lesson learned for the future.
I did some mending and shortened two pairs of jeans for a neighbor. I am planning to begin cleaning and organizing my craft area this week. As someone else said, I am sure this will help me avoid buying things I already have.
I picked lettuce (twice), parsley, and even a small handful of peas. Some of my seeds that I planted have sprouted. Hurray! Now if I can just keep them alive!
I'm looking forward to reading everyone's list.
Those little bursts of warm weather in the winter are perfect for getting seeds to germinate for cold weather crops.
DeleteThe doily in the picture is a rectangular doily made by hand by a woman who lived long ago; her daughter has now moved into an assisted living place and she gave it to me when she did.
I think it is a beautiful tribute to the woman's memory that you are using it.
DeleteShe made some really beautiful linens; her embroidery and especially her drawn-thread work is really beautiful. I was given things that she sewed, since I had an interest and the woman's granddaughter (who is around the age of my mother) did not want any of them. I have used several of her pieces in my photos. I don't even know her name; I will have to have my mother ask the next time she talks with her daughter.
DeleteHere is my list from last week:
ReplyDelete- It was almost 60 degrees here on Saturday. I turned the heat off and we enjoyed having the door open and my grandson got to ride his new bike we bought him for Christmas
- The weather turned on us yesterday from rain, to sleet, to snow and the temperature dropped down to 19 degrees so the heat went back on
- I turned the thermostat down 1 degree to 67 degrees. We'll see how much it changes our electric bill
- I went to Savingstar and I had $5.25 in my account. I cashed out and sent that money over to Paypal
- I also looked at the website for my state for unclaimed money and saw that I had $10.92 from an old account I set up at Upromise. I printed out the paperwork and mailed it off on Thursday
- Did a survey and earned $3.00 (sent to Paypal)
- My sister told me about the Ibotta app and I downloaded it to my cell phone. So far I have earned $2.00
- Hubby & I added around $8.00 to our change jar by cleaning out my wallet and his pants pocket
- Received $5.00 Starbucks gift card in the mail
- Received a $3.00 rebate for my dogs heartworm pills
- In the mail I received 4 samples of Airbourne, Two 7 ct. boxes of Align Priobiotics from Vocal point, Covergirl mascara from a giveaway and 9 coupons for a FREE 12-pk of Coke from my coke rewards
- I found 6 green peppers marked down on the produce rack at Meijer for $1.50. I made stuffed green peppers out of them and doubled the amount of brown rice instead of using more hamburger. We had enough leftover for lunch the next day. We also liked them better with more rice :)
- I was able to get 2 gallons of Meijer milk for free by using my husbands and daughters MPerk accounts. I also used coupons and "bought" 6 bags of Chex Mix and 2 bags of cat treats for free.
- I baked a ham I bought at Christmas time. I put the bone and broth in the freezer for another meal along with a quart size bag of the leftover ham. We had homemade scalloped potatoes with it and I didn't add any cheese to them until we put them on our plate. We just sprinkled some on and warmed it up in the microwave.
- I made homemade French fries Saturday night and made enough for 2 meals. After I boiled them and air dried them I froze the other half on a cookie sheet and bagged them up for another meal.
- I used leftover mashed potatoes and made 2 loaves of potato bread (new recipe found on Pinterest) and 2 loaves of cinnamon swirl bread.
- We used one loaf of the cinnamon swirl bread for homemade French toast
- We stayed home all weekend except for a trip to Martin's (2 minutes from my house) to pick up .99¢ dozen eggs (bought 4 dz.) and $1.69 lb. pork chops
- I made a meal plan for this week using pantry/freezer items. The only thing I needed was a box of lasagna noodles for a new stuffed manicotti recipe.
Oh, I hope those saltines are one of the recipes that you are planning to share on the website! Due to some health issues, I sometimes deal with a lot of nausea and saltines help a lot. I would love to be able to make my own.
ReplyDelete--Since we have been buying extra meat while it is on sale, we have plenty of meat in the freezer and we didn't need to buy any this week.
--Crocheted a scarf with yarn that my mom found at Goodwill and gave to me. There just happened to be a few skeins of really nice, expensive yarn in the huge bag that she gave me.
--We were able to get interior paint for 50% off! There are a few paint projects that we wanted to do around the house this year and when a local hardware store put their paint on clearance for 50% off (they were getting rid of their stock because they were changing to a different brand), we decided to pick out colors and buy the paint now instead of waiting until we were ready to paint.
--Received a full-size box of cereal from BzzAgent. BzzAgent is a social marketing company that allows members to qualify to try products for free and then spread the word on social media and by word of mouth about the products they try.
--Found some coupons that I could use in the community coupon box at our local library. The coupon box has been such a blessing to us! Everyone who uses the coupon box gives and/or takes coupons as needed and I am able to get one or two more coupons for free-after-coupon items or for things that we need.
--Downloaded free ebooks to my Kindle for PC.
--Used a coupon to get free toothpaste.
--Used a notecard that a friend sent me several years ago and painted a plain frame in order to make an inexpensive wall art. Total cost was a little over $5.
I made some cardboard drawer dividers for my top dresser drawer by cutting a cardboard box into strips. It may not be the prettiest solution, but so far it's working well and keeping my things more organized.
ReplyDeleteI used a $20 grocery store gift certificate that I got for Christmas. With the certificate I got my groceries for half of what I usually pay.
I got some free airborne samples in the mail.
Got a free trial membership for Amazon Prime and have used it to watch a movie and a couple of shows for free.
Got a rebate in the mail.
Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteHere are some of our frugal accomplishments from last week:
I cut my husband's hair, and the hair of both my teen-age sons. One of my sons' friends almost took me up on the offer to cut his, too, but was worried I wouldn't get the "poof" up front right, rofl.
We kept our thermostat at 61* at night and didn't go above 64* during the day. This week already it is much colder (teens), so we'll probably "splurge" and go up to 65* or 66*.
Our sons' friend spent four days with us last week, and aside from ordering in pizza one night, I cooked everything else from scratch. He actually thanked me for all the hard work. :)
I air-dried most of our clothing (except towels and sheets).
I downloaded about a dozen of my youngest son's schoolbooks onto his Kindle for free.
I knit my mother a small clutch purse for her birthday. I used wool I already had that I purchased years ago on sale, fabric I already had that was gifted to me to sew into it for a lining, and a pretty pink-pearled snap closure that I bought years ago on clearance.
We visited the library on our 20th Anniversary date and I came out with several books-on-CD, two new cookbooks, and several more books on finances.
My men were in and out of the house a lot this weekend, and it would have been so much easier for them to simply stop at a fast-food restaurant, but they came home for meals each day.
I sent my husband to the store to pick up the four items we needed instead of going myself without a proper list.
I listed more books on paperbackswap. Three are outgoing, I have one coming to me, and dozens more to list as we finish unpacking.
I'm sure there are a lot more, but this is quite lengthy already. I always feel encouraged coming here and actually taking stock of the frugal things I did last week; it encourages me when I don't feel like I've done much. I also love getting new ideas from everyone else. Thanks for making this "forum" possible for us weekly, Brandy!
Have a frugal and productive week everyone!
Shani
tried to stay out of stores that saves me tons of money.
ReplyDeletewent to a Antique store, where I know the woman has skeins of yarn for 50 cents and bought 10 skeins (used Christmas gift money)for scarves for the women's shelter.
re-arranged my pantry shelves and assessed my freezer contents for meal planning and shopping purposes.
Needed a tub for storage purposes and found one at the thrift store for 3.00 (the same size was 4.97 at wm)
found a beautiful lovely purse (nice brand) at thrift store, it was on half price day. Great bargain.
Also wrote some posts on my blog about meatless meals to motivate myself and maybe others.
http://ctipsanhints.blogspot.com/2013/01/more-meatless-meals-or-very-little-meat.html
Ohh my favorite weekly feature! I really think you should change this to a link-up Brandy - it would be so much fun to see photos from everyone who has a blog.....
ReplyDeleteHere's some of what we did this week:
* Brought lunches every day except 2 where work/school provided lunch for free (both me and my husband)
* Brought coffee every day (me only - hubby doesn't drink coffee)
* Took advantage of free snacks at work/school each day (me and my husband)
* Updated out budget book - we saved 10% of our savings goal for August 2012-August 2013. Need to ramp it up to make it where we'd like to be.
* Paid cash for my PhD tuition for last fall
* Signed up for 2 free samples - one tea sample, one hygeine product sample
* Downloaded 12 free Kindle books for my Kindle for PC
* Downloaded free coloring pages and mazes to make car games for my children's birthday present this year
* Baked a King Cake to celebrate Epiphany this year. Made yellow colored sugar using white sugar and yellow foodcoloring (had green and purple sugar already but no yellow). Baked a quarter in the cake instead of a figurine since I didn't have one.
* Cleaned out and inventoried the upstairs freezer and the fridge
* Froze leftover fresh cranberries so they wouldn't go bad
* Cleaned out some more and took a load of items to the thrift store. Accepted store credit again rather than a tax statement. Plan on using the store credits to buy Easter outfits (hopefully suits) for my Husband and Son.
* Ate at home every night.
* Called in a favor from a friend for free fried chicken (he's a chef at a local restraunt) for a night when we didn't want to cook. YUM!
* Used Swagbucks to order TP and a birthday present from Amazon.
* Used credit to order a birthday gift for my dad from another online store.
* Made 3 birthday gifts - a set of pillows, and 2 glasses/contacts care kits
* Mended 2 items
I think that's it. I actually started keeping a list and it's been really helpful not just in remembering but making me think more about what I'm doing each day.
And the photo of your daughter eating the peas is just darling! Peas were my son's favorite food as a baby/toddler and when he learned to use a fork he would work each individual pea before eating it - it was hysterical!
Thanks Brandy!
Lea
This week-
ReplyDeletethawed a gallon of milk to use in making a batch of yogurt. I was out of yogurt starter, but luckily came across a large container of greek yogurt marked down to 49 cents.
-combined errands to save on gas
-made a batch of homemade hashbrowns, we liked them better than the store bought kind, and they are very easy to make
-added water to last bit of laundry detergent and was able to get another 2 loads out of the detergent
-used baked potatoes for bbq chicken instead of buying buns for sandwiches
-my friend completed an online survey for which she received a full size can of similac baby formula, as well as a small size can, and she gave them to me since her children are now off the baby formula. This was a wonderful surprise!!
-used some coupons to get my husband free deodorant, toilet paper for 10 cents, and some deep conditioning treatment for my hair for only $1.10. I was also able to get a free dozen eggs for buying a tub of margarine that I needed anyway, and it was on sale for a good price.
-drank more water
-downloaded another book on kindle for pc
-made a meal with all leftovers, chili cornbread pie(used leftover chili from freezer), fried potatoes(with leftover baked potatoes), and leftover cream corn
-made italian seasoned white sauce to go over pasta instead of buying jar of alfredo sauce. It tasted really good, so unless it is a great deal, this will be how I make the sauce from now on.
- used the wing tips my husband cut from the chicken wings to make some homemade chicken stock in the crockpot
- my husband ordered dinner from Outback steakhouse to bring home one night using a gift card we had. Well our salads and the kids chicken bites did not make it into our bag. I called and spoke with the manager, who is going to mail us several gift certificates that we will be able to use for the next visit. My husband still has another gift card for OUtback for coaching soccer this past year, he didn't want to take the time to call, but I told him I was sure they could do something to make up for the food we didn't receive. I am so glad I called!
-made a greater effort to turn off lights when we are not in a room.
- found a 3 ingredient taco seasoning recipe, so will not need to buy anymore packets, plus it only uses garlic salt, cumin, and chili powder, which I always keep on hand.
I look forward to reading everyone else's comments.
Heather, would you mind sharing how you make hashbrowns? My children love hashbrown patties but they are expensive! :)
DeleteLisa,
DeleteMy husband makes himself hashbrowns almost every single morning. He uses the grater attachment on our Kitchen Aid to grind his potatoes, then then he fries them. If you want to freeze your hashbrowns, you can grate them, throw them in boiling water for a couple of minutes, and then put them in ice water. Drain them and freeze them.
You can use a manual grater as well to grate potatoes.
I used the homemade hashbrown recipe found on the website www.heavenlyhomemakers.com - I liked these because you can freeze them without the potatoes turning brown or getting mushy. They were very easy to make.
DeleteIf you have a panini press, they are great for making homemade hash browns. They cook much faster than on the stove, and you only need a tiny bit of oil.
DeleteCourtney
Wow! Thanks for the awesome idea. I am going to try cooking hash browns on my tortilla press :)Rebecca S.
Delete
ReplyDeleteI love this section of your blog Brandy,This week was fairly frugal.
I was given half gallon of milk, 10 oranges ,5 tomatoes that I was so excited about 3 pears, 2 packages of lettuce,2 packs of bread, 1 pack of cookies, 1 dozen scones, 1 yogurt,2 small birthday cakes that went into the freezer. 1 container of sour cream, 3 pounds of boneless chicken breast , 1 container of steak or stew meat, 5 chili peppers,
2 grapefruit, what a blessing. I also received 5 bags of hand me downs
I was able to sort and soak 5 items for church. I am allergic to perfume so I soak them in vinigar and water a bakery bucket in the
bathtub I leave then in this for about 3 days. If that does not work
I use vinigar water and baking soda. It does make a little chemical reaction when you add the baking soda. You could do this outside if you want. If that does not work I rinse them and use water and oxy clean or Brandys homemade laundry soap.If there is any odor after that I hang them outside in the sun for a few days. I hang alot of my clothes to dry in my shower I on hangers on a extra shower curtain rod
that goes down the middle of the shower bathtub combo. I did regular stuff like make all meals from scratch and organized my pantry and found many treasures that I did not know I had. Thats all I can think of for now.
Have a blessed week,
Patti
Hi Brandy . I am from england and have followed your blog from day one and your website for longer but never posted . This year i will post to hold me accountable for my actions . Unfortunately through bad choices we are in debt but this year i am going to tackle this . Your posts are truley amazing and inspiring as is everyones on this blog i love to read about your weeks and your different ways of life so hello to you all. This week i got a designer shirt for my seven year old and a crabtree and evelyn gift set for one pound fifty each [ Not sure how much in dollars ] from the charity shop. Gave a birthday present to a child from an excess one i decided not to give my child as he had enough already .mother in law gave me a roll of all purpose design wrapping paper for year round gifts .food shopped using left over vouchers i did not use over christmas total shop was fifty one pounds i had fifty pound in vouchers so trolley load for one pound . Not a bad start to the year but a long way to go i love all your inspiring ideas
ReplyDeleteHi Caroline,
DeleteGood luck with the debt clearing! A long time ago an ex left me with lots of debts, the best thing I found was to allocate as much cash as humanly possible to getting rid of debt as fast as possible. Sounds so easy! I think things are going to get a lot worse in the UK. Good Luck
Jenny in Wales
I hope your citrus trees come out of the cold weather safely!
ReplyDeleteI focused on adding layers and learning how to keep the fire going in the woodstove so I could turn the furnace down further to save propane. (The wood was free from a relative, but I'm not good at keeping a fire going, so I tend to rely on DuraFlame logs - which also add up! Pretty excited to say I've used one today and three pieces of real wood, which is my record so far. LOL)
Cut my hair and he cut mine. (After 20 years, he is getting pretty good at it!)
ReplyDeleteTraded a neighbor some of my canned applesauce and spiced plum butter (I had gleaned both of those fruits for canning, so almost free!) for 5 pounds of cheese. (She is going dairy free.)
Babysat a neighbor's duck and chickens for a week. In exchange, I got ot keep the eggs---we harvested an average of 18 each day!!
Ate egg drop soup three nights this week. I had sausage-mushroom stuffing left over in the freezer, from thanksgiving. I threw a few cups into the egg drop soup, which made it really tasty and thickened it up a bit so that the meat loving husband felt satisfied at the end of the meal.
Used no paper products this week except for toilet paper---everything else was cloth napkins or rags.
A friend came for dinner and brought 2 hard squash with her as a hostess gift. Processed it into pulp and froze it in 2 cup quantities.
Made chili from freezer ingredients and added squash pulp to it to extend the meat, thicken it, make it healthier (and hide it from the husband. he knows I do it, but does not like to be reminded). The spices cover the flavor completely. In this way, I managed to extend the chili for two meals. between the egg drop soup and the chili, we had five nights of dinner covered. Had omelets for the other two nights, so were cheap meals all week.
Made a bit batch of chili spice so I hae plenty and am not tempted to buy those hideously expensive packets at the grocery store.
Made biscuit mix to keep in the fridge, so I don't buy Grands (which we both love).
Brought home a bag of chips leftover from a potluck. They were plain and no one wanted them. We never buy chips so this was a treat.
Made gallon after gallon of ice tea. we make enough for two gallons at a time, using only 6 tea bags per every two gallons. Pop is another thing we have not purchased in years, so this is pretty much all we drink; if we want a hot tea, we nuke the iced tea and it works just fine. I used to use more bags, but have steadily reduced the number we use. (However, six is about it. Too feeble if we use less.)
Made a new bread recipe. It was fowl, so I ground it down to bread crumbs instead of following my first instinct to throw it to the chickens.
Regrew scallions on the window sill, so will get about 3 times the amount of the original purchase because that is about how often they regrow before withering out.
Found a bag of little shampoos I had gathered from various hotels when my job required travel nearly every week. Poured them all into a large bottle, leaving them each upside down for a long time so that every last drop dripped in. Ended up with about 20 ounces of shampoo.
While cleaning the same cupboard, I found a bunch of little hotel soaps. Soaked and softened them and turned them into hand soup to refill used up hand soap dispensers.
Made no food purchases and drove so little that we used less than a quarter of a tank of gas all week. (Some weeks I am allowed to work from home and my husband caught rides with a friend who works at the same place and traded rides all winter for a huge amount of our compost last summer. (Isn't there something cool about taking an item that was literally waste and trading it for something else?)
That is about it for this week.
Lindsey
You had a great week. I have never considered putting bread crumbs in mason jars. Do you refrigerate it?
ReplyDeleteYour crackers look awesome. Can't wait for the recipe
Bread Crumbs do not need to be rerigeratered. They are completely dry. They can go stale, but they aren't going to go moldy. They will keep for a long time.
DeleteFiesta, if your climate isn't as dry as Nevada's and you're worried about bread crumbs absorbing the moisture in the air - happens for me - you can freeze them in mason jars with lids tightly screwed on and they last for ages. They're great to have on hand.
DeleteI too have had a hard time with fires.
ReplyDeleteI collect sticks, dryer lint, old candles and did some google on learning how to build a fire. I barter with a young man who delivers as much wood as I want for the entire winter for just gas money to him and my help with other things around his home. So our electric bill is way cheap all winter. It took me almost a year to learn how, but now I have it down and I can make my own duraflame log which I call mine do a flame and my own fire starters. So don't dispear it is possible to learn this.
The fail safe fire starter I use is to collect lint (I dry our towels and sheets) or strips of rags. Take an egg carton and fill each indentation with the rags or lint. Every time you use a candle, when you blow it out, put the liquid wax on one of the indentations, on top of the rag or lint. When you need to start a fire, cut off an egg and light it. Between the paper mache of the egg carton, the rags and the wax, it will burn long enough to ignite the wood.
DeleteIn a pinch, I have used just one entire empty egg carton and that worked. The glue in it, as well as the mulched up cardboard, burn very well.
I've determined that I probably need to join an online dieting group to lose weight because if they influence my eating habits half as much as this weekly post on frugality does, I should have no problem dropping the pounds. Honestly, I have to make sure I've done some frugal items (other than the daily, usual stuff) just to make sure that I can post here each week!
ReplyDeleteI'm continuing to make applesauce and freeze apple slices from the bushel of apples I bought before New Year's. I expect to be done with them this week, if only because I'm sick of looking at them and working on them.
The only eating out last week was by my daughter when she stopped at McDonalds and spent about $3 on her dinner. This is a huge change for us.
I received a card for one free item from Chipotle in response to an e-mail complaint that I sent to their corporate offices. After buying a $25 gift certificate as part of a gift for the neighbor who mows our lawn each week in the summer (bless him! He LIKES to do it!) I read the notice on the receipt that we could receive such a card if we bought $30 worth of gift certificates at one time. I was annoyed that the clerk did not tell me this so I sent in the complaint. The response was to ask for my mailing address and they sent me the free item card. We'll use it to split an order of steak tacos some weekend when we are out running errands.
I took down our Christmas tree and am currently sorting through my three 18 gallons totes of decorations to determine what should be kept and what will be donated to hopefully bless someone else. I'm older middle-aged and both the number of decorations that I put out and my style have changed over the decades, but I'm always too busy in the fall to sort these items and I just put it off to the next year. By doing it now, I'll have the boxes of Halloween and Christmas decorations ready to be donated next August or September, rather than storing them for another year.
I cleaned out the freezer and got rid of old frozen veggies that I bought on sale years ago (literally – I know!) when I swore we would eat more cooked veggies. However, we don't like cooked veggies, especially with fancy sauces, so we never ate them. I also organized the freezer contents so that (a) I can find what I want (what a concept!) and have similar items (chicken, beef, cut up onions, etc.,) grouped together in plastic bags.
I froze the juice from 5 Meyer lemons after first making zest from the skins.
Ham at Aldi's was discounted $5 per ham because the sell by date was 1/20, so I bought a 9.57 pound ham was $9.24; I wanted a spiral sliced one but they were 1.49/pound or higher at all stores so I was happy to find this. I gave my neighbor enough for a couple meals for her and her two children and a few sandwiches. I also froze several bags of slices for future use; my daughter doesn't like it but I do and I'm looking forward to lunchtime sandwiches. I also found out that our younger cat really likes ham!
Also at Aldi's, I bought three 6 oz. containers of blueberries for $1.49 and one 6 oz. container of blackberries for $1. Combined with some very tasty strawberries from the Amish market and bananas from the grocery store, we had a fruit salad. My daughter has the flu so getting her to eat something healthy was good. I learned from a Facebook post made by the comedian John Pinette that you can hull strawberries by sticking a straw up the center of the berry starting at the bottom and pushing up to the stem end. I tried it and it worked, although each piece of straw lasted for only 5 strawberries or so. I think a harder, “permanent” straw might not wear out. I was just amazed that it worked.
Mari, There is a free program online for weight loss tracking and encouragment here is a link
Deletehttp://www.myfitnesspal.com/
It has worked well for me and best of all it is free and I don't have to buy special food. Have a great day!
Rebecca S.
On Monday I repaired a computer with my husband total save $300
ReplyDeleteOn Tuesday I did a barter swap and got free firewood, also picked up sticks and dryer lint for free firestarters I make.
On Wednesday I went Grocery shopping spent $5.50 for $78.80 worth of food. Great buy on Oranges and Peanut Butter.
On Thursday I did laundry but hung all to dry
On Friday I cut hubby's hair, repaired a chair, and cut my own hair.
On Saturday we went out used coupons and gift cards for a free date.
On Sunday I gathered more sticks for firestarters made some firestarters , made a head 5 meals for the work week and made 3 candles.
I make all of our meals from scratch and I only run the dishwasher one day a week. I wash all the rest by hand.
I collect cans and bottles to turn in for a few coins, I do survery's for a few dollars , and I do swag bucks for gift cards.
We bought gasoline on .15 off with the grocery points card and I got a free gallon of milk with a card from the store for having filled a scrip there last month.
I made a blanket over the last few months and mailed it last week for Grandson's birthday gift. I also made one other birthday gift to send to my daughter. I am working ahead to make a home made gift for each and put a small store bought item with the home made gift. For the Grandson I sent a book. For the daughter I sent a coin purse with lip gloss and nail polish in it, I made her a set of purse. The coin purse was store bought.( I found it at Good will for one dollar it was all leather.)
I made a blanket over the last few months and mailed it last week for Grandson's birthday gift. I also made one other birthday gift to send to my daughter. I am working ahead to make a home made gift for each and put a small store bought item with the home made gift. For the Grandson I sent a book. For the daughter I sent a coin purse with lip gloss and nail polish in it, I made her a set of purse. The coin purse was store bought.( I found it at Good will for one dollar it was all leather.)
ReplyDeleteI read your blog from start to finish (all the older posts) as well as your website after discovering it this week - you are most inspiring and live unlike 99% of the world. I bought dried blackbeans this week after realizing I am spending too much on the canned variety (for the first time). I baked a birthday pie for my Mother's 70th Birthday yesterday made from wild blackberries picked and frozen last summer - it was yummy and appreciated by her (she makes the jam in our family). Made 100% of our meals with the exception of brunch on Sunday as that was part of Mom's gift. I bought nothing new other than some groceries.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you're here!
DeleteI used to buy canned beans long ago, too. In fact, canned pinto beans at .33 a can was my first stock-up purchase (I bought several cases of them).
Dried beans save a lot of money. If you want to save even more, look for them in bulk. Instead of paying .65 for a can, you're paying .65 a pound for dried beans, which double in size.
Hi, I love reading all of your ideas...Here are my frugal accomplishes for this past week. Since we are in a deep freeze up here just like Brandy I put up quilts to the windows and towels at the bottom of each outside doors to keep cold drafts out. I received a food dryer for Christmas from my wonderful husband and we have been experimenting with drying different things. our latest is banana jerky :0) We received a jerky squeezer as he calls it from my Dad and had some overripe bananas so... banana jerky was born at our house :0) It is actually really good!! I am drying clothes on a rack infront of our woodstove to add moisture to the air and cut down on electricity. I used leftover chili/refried beans/rice to make burritos which I wrapped and put into the freezer for a quick meal. I should note that our food bank here in town puts out their excess fruit, veggies,bread and pasteries for the community to take! From there I took 4 banana boxes of stuff and divided it up into "care packages" for other members of my family who are struggling to make ends meet AND I have canned/froze/dried alot of items that now are in my pantry so we lower our grocery expenses! Its been such a blessing ! I have incoporated alot more beans into our diet too. I really enjoy reading the posts and comments on this blog and others! thank you for sharing ! Gaila Lewis, Washington State
ReplyDeleteI've managed to reduce my grocery budget from $600 to $200 this month (for four adults) (beginning Dec 20) in order to make up for a lost weeks' pay. I went over by $15, but I did have a 10% buffer calculated, so I don't feel so bad. This is the last week of my reduced budget. We've really put a dent in our pantry and freezer contents, especially during Christmas. I will be glad to restock next week.
ReplyDeleteI used an Amazon gift card to purchase a Back to Basics Food Strainer (like Brandy's) in order to process some frozen bananas that I had hanging out in the freezer. I hope to get them canned up one evening this week. I also bought a small grow house with the same card so that I can start my cabbage seeds and other vegetables this year. We are planning to expand our gardening efforts this year.
I took a jug of homemade unsweetened tea to work each day. They recently changed the coffee machine from free to 25 cents. It’s not a lot, but I know that my tea is better than their coffee. I also packed leftovers for lunch three out of five days. One day I went out with my sister and ordered a $5 spaghetti lunch (that I split in half and ate the leftovers for dinner that night.) My manager gave each of us a Chic-fil-a gift card which bought the other lunch.
I used $43.50 in Extra Card Bucks at CVS to buy some clearance toiletries and a few canned goods.
I made several loaves of bread using some home ground wheat flour. (I use the Wonder Mill Junior – it is a great workout!) I have another loaf to make today for my friend’s birthday tomorrow. I’ll wrap it up with a jar of homemade peach preserves.
I made homemade pizza crusts which we ate today. The sauce was purchased at Big Lots for $1 and was very tasty! I used freeze dried hamburger and frozen green peppers to top my husband’s pizza and used up bits of cheese and pepperoni to top mine.
I made another batch of homemade laundry detergent. I’ve been using Brandy’s recipe.
I mixed up some powdered milk and slipped some into the gallon jug of 2%. The family has not noticed.
I made a lot of pantry meals this past week.
A woman at work stops by the local egg farmer and picks up a case of eggs to distribute at work. They come in flats of 30 eggs for $3.00. I asked her to add me to her distribution list. She brought me a flat the very next day as she’d happened to stop. This price is $1.20 a dozen but the eggs are huge (some even have double-yolks).
I made a set of bookmarks for my husband’s friend using Brandy’s instructions. The friend is originally from Dusseldorf, Germany. I found an antique map of Dusseldorf online and printed it onto card stock. I printed it twice and was able to make three bookmarks that when laid side by side was the entire map. He was very pleased!
Valerie in NC
This week wasn't very frugal for me because I had to go to the doctor for a very bad sinus infection that knocked me down for a couple of days. Took all of my energy just to go to work last week! We did NOT eat out even though I was sick, my husband took care of everything!
ReplyDeleteThis weekend I did start to feel better and decided to try some new things -
I made yogurt in the crockpot for the first time! It's wonderful. I used some milk that was close to going sour too which saved it from going down the drain!
I also cooked two pounds of pinto beans for the first time. We eat beans all the time, but I've never fixed pintos. We loved them! I took a third of the pot and made refried beans with them. Then we made bean and cheese burritos to put in the freezer for easy meals.
I had a 10 lb. bag of potatoes that were sprouting and we cooked up the whole bag - potato salad, potato/sausage casserole and french fries which we make po-boys (sandwiches) out of with gravy that we froze after our Christmas meal. We will eat the potato salad with bbq pork that we make in the crockpot. Three meals from almost bad potatoes which we also shared with one daughter and my mom.
-Made granola.
-Received $3.00 from taking a survey.
-Made $9.00 from selling earrings that I made.
-Received several samples in the mail.
I want you to know, that I would not have made yogurt or cooked a different kind of bean without you and all your wonderful readers who post here every week. I'm trying to do more and more every day because of all of you! THANK YOU!!!!
I am so glad that your yogurt turned out well. I have started making mine in the crockpot, and it is so easy and so much cheaper that I will never pay for the expensive greek yogurt at the store again! The last time my husband bought a container it was almost $6, talk about a HUGE savings!
DeleteI had hopes to get some more snacks and breakfasts made and ended up being ill yesterday. I hope to make dried fruit, granola dn granola bars this week.
ReplyDeleteUsed my homemade laundry detergent.
Was surprised top find that one of my prescriptions is now free...I guess my insurance covers it. thsi will save us $80 a year!
also the vitamins I needed were buy one get one and I had $1 off coupon so I was able to purchase two bottles of vitamins and my 3 month prescprition for $10.99 total!
Used my treadmill again today...my son and I are logging our miles to see who can do the most this year. My goal is 350 miles!
sent in rebates from our appliance purchase...we needed a new refriderator after ours stopped working last week.
mailed a coat to be repaired under warranty
downloaded a few kindle books for free
used a rice pack that was a gift on my sore back this weekend
took leftovers for lunches
found a sheet that I would like to make napkins out of...when I unbury my sewing machine.
had a great talk with my husband this weekend about my children having more responsibility around the house to give me some personal time to relax and maybe get back into scrapbooking...and I hope to also sew somethings. I was thinking napkins might be a good stater project. I have sewn a block pillow and make the top layer of a block style quilt so I think I can hem some edges!
purchsed some yogurt on clearance and other on sale.
made pizza crust with 1 c greek yogurt to 1 cup self rising flour (flour with baking soda and salt). knead on a floured surface. roll out. back at 450* for 5 minutes. remove and add toppings. back another 6-7 minutes. It wasn't as good as another rescipe I have but many less ingrediants and time.
On a treadmill 1 mile joggong takes about 10 mins, so 10 mins a day to hit target. Or 30 mins 2-3 times a week
DeleteDefinately doable
Jenny in Wales
I did the usual hanging clothes on a rack to dry and keeping my thermostat at 65 degrees.
ReplyDeleteI donated a couple of boxes of stuff to the thrift store and just knew I should have dropped those boxes right at the front door and turned around and get back in my car. But oh, no. I had to go and look at clothes. I don't feel guilty because I haven't bought new clothes in over a year. I came away with a new skirt (tags still on, and it's Ann Taylor brand) and three new tops for $15.
Switched from coffee to tea this week when under the weather.Helped my throat, saved money.
ReplyDeleteFound a great meat sale on lanb and pork. Bought and froze or processed the meat( cut up for stir frys and stews and froze on cookie sheets then packaged)
Had beef soup bones in freezer. Roasted bones and am making a beef stock.
Made all contributions for 2013 tax year.
Had children go through fridge every second day. They packed left overs in glass containers and labelled and dated them. Now I have quick lunches/ dinners for school and work that can be microwaved.
Had children make homemade Teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce and 2 different kinds of BBQ sauces
Made 2 baquettes, used baguette pan I had bought years ago when I lived overseas.Thanks for the push Brandy.
Made home made Mac and Cheese with ingredients on hand.Yum! Leftovers quickly being claimed for lunches:)
Husband cut up 28 grapefruit( at 25 cents each).Makes it easier to have for snacks and pack for lunches.
Thank-you to you all, many great ideas. Always something to learn.
Good intentions notwithstanding, many frugal failures this week. I tried making bread again - good news and bad news to report on that front. The good news I am pretty sure I have not been correctly proofing my yeast -- I used a candy thermometer and found out that 105 degrees really isn't that warm! The bad news is I checked the yeast so many times I broke my candy thermometer and there was broken glass in the yeast. That freaked me out a bit so I threw everything out and resolved to try again with a meat thermometer. The bread did start to rise, but not very much and then I made a mistake. I kneaded it again and it died. Progress, however!
ReplyDeleteDid some creative cooking which also failed. Found a receipe for potato soup in a jar to send off to our college student. However, she is vegetarian so we substituted vegetarian bouillion for beef bouillon and omitted the bacon pieces. We did a test batch and it tasted like wallpaper paste. Not kidding! Then I tried to redeem myself and make vegetarian tortilla soup (I make amazing tortilla soup). However, I didn't have homemade broth or even boxed broth so I used bouillon. Then I decided it really wasn't thick enough so added some white bean flour (I love white bean flour and use it all the time as a thickener). I don't know what happened but between the bouillon and the bean flour I made some sort of awful, inedible potion. My husband hates throwing out food -- he will eat darn near anything. He eagerly threw it out and took it out to the garbage can.
Travelling next weekend. Will restart my bread making in 2 weeks. Best to all of you really smart women, especially Brandy. E.
Hi do not give up on making bread. I used to kill the bread every time I tried and then I bought a bread machine at a yard sale for
Delete5 dollars and then I was able to have the bread machine mix it and I bake it in the oven after the bread machine makes the bread.
I scrape the sides down with a spatula in the bread machine to get
all ingrediants incorporated. Then I close the lid and let the bread machine finish mixing . There is a dough setting that beeps
when it is ready to go into the oven. Another trick is to use baking powder or baking soda for making bread. I use both yeast
and baking powder. I got this idea from my mom that puts yeast
and baking powder in her cinnamon rolls just in case the room
is chilly when rolling out cinnamon rolls.
I am so proud of you for not giving up.
Hope this helps your bread making.
Patti B
I had a rough week. I have found out that I have a calcium deposit in my right shoulder. It decided to become a big problem last Monday. I could not lift my arm at all, or sleep. I still can't get it very high. So, after agony for a couple of nights, hoping it would get better, I went in for x-rays, and ended up getting cortisone pills, which helped a lot. I will probably need physical therapy to regain range of motion. So, most things were done by my wonderful family, or if I did it, in the last day or 2.
ReplyDelete-I got about 1/2 of my daughter's formal dinner dress made. I fitted the top, which was the hardest part. The fabric was purchased for $2 per yard on clearance 1-1/2 years ago. I will probably have no more than $20-$25 into the whole thing, including zipper, pattern, etc. I was having trouble sewing for most of the week, but managed to do some yesterday.
-The family used some freezer meals I had made, and I set out simple things for the girls to cook other times, such as hamburger for tacos, etc. My husband barbequed chicken. We did not eat out at all.
-I sat with my youngest daughter while she worked on a child's apron for a birthday gift from fabric we had on hand. She bought 3 cooking utensils from the dollar store to add to the gift and told the little girl that she would have her over to cook one afternoon. So, she made a little girl very happy for about $3 out of pocket.
-I consider spending the time to teach my girls how to cook and sew extremely frugal and important, as they will be able to have skills for their futures. (These are the last 2 children, out of 7, and for those who were receptive, the skills have been worth every minute I put into teaching them.)I use 4-H as a starting point for my home economics curriculum. We worked on a couple of projects for that during my down time.
-I sorted all my gardenseeds and spent some of my down time placing orders for seeds on the internet. I'm slow at it. I can't wait to get the seeds, even if I can't plant anything for a long time.
-I was able to reduce my seed cost by quite a bit because I found packets of seeds on clearance last fall for .25 each and bought things I normally use. So, I spent less this year than last year.
-I stayed home for several days, and my husband had to drive me to work today. I'm going to try driving to the doctor tomorrow. It saved a lot of gas.
-I received my usual food from Gleaners. This week it was mainly lettuce, bananas, bread, broccoli, and a carton of cottage cheese. We got meat this time and there was 1 chicken and some turkey lunchmeat, like you would get from a deli. There were a few other things, but many were over the hill, so became animal food. We received several boxes of food for the pigs that were not usable from gleaners.
-My husband barbequed 2 chickens. We have had chicken pieces for dinner, chicken panini sandwiches on homemade french bread (gluten free bread for me), chicken taco soup, chicken salads, and there is still enough broth for one more soup, plus enough meat for one more meal of some kind. So, that will be about 5-6 meals from 2 chickens. One was free. I would not have thawed the second one if I had known I was getting the free one......
-used the wood stove
-served popcorn a lot as a snack
-was still able to work today, with hubby driving me to work (I teach piano lessons, so I figured I could still listen)I work from home two more afternoons this week.
-My husband picked up items I wanted from Costco today while doing shopping there for work.
Here's a question. I have a lot of bills coming up (doctor bills, physical therapy, etc.) I have a lot of food. But, I want my more luxurious items to last a long time so I don't have to replace them any time soon. (chocolate chips, olives, cheese, etc.), since I'm going to need more money for those bills. I would love to know how some of you would strike that balance between children who see this huge stockpile and just don't see any reason not to eat it all up right now, and myself, who wants to make some things last a while. I have the complication of wanting to teach the girls to cook. I want them to cook things they like. Unfortunately, one of them chooses high fat, high sugar, high cost items constantly. So, it's a battle. Also, the other one can put 1/2 cup cheese as a garnish on her own bowl of soup, so that's a battle. I've been serving her, even though that makes her mad. I have been assigning main dishes to the dessert lover to cook, so that helps me feel a little bit better. I don't want to stand over them micromanaging everything, but also don't want them to clean me out of chocolate chips again:) One child will not drink anything all day if not allowed to have juice. My husband is totally on board, so that's good. So, I'd love other ideas of how people strike the balance of letting their children have the food they want, with the reality of economics.
ReplyDeleteWe talk about the price of meals at almost every single meal.
DeleteAlso, I serve items restaurant style. I make up all of the plates ahead of time.
For the cheese issue, I would explain. my children would like to do that, too, with some things. I talk to them about using less so that there is more for another meal. I'll tell them if it's too much.
Part of teaching them to make meals includes teaching them the cost of meals, and wisely planning meals. You can explain that more expensive meals are a treat. Give real numbers for the cost of meals. Help them see that you could eat 2 or 3 inexpensvie meals for the cost of one expensive meal.
I'm teaching the children to cook the meals that I have planned. If I'm making potatoes, then a child can learn to make them. If I'm making crepes, then they can make those. I haven't given them an option of what to cook; they just get to cook what I've planned.
Juice is a rare and special treat for us. Stop buying it and the child will need to drink water. Juice is very high in calories. We drink water at all meals. We will rarely have juice with a meal in addition to our glass of water. I pour out the juice when we have it, which is around 6 times a year.
Making changes will be hard; they will complain, but they will get used to it. Expect it to take time--lots of time.
Chocolate chips--put them in a container marked lentils :) if need be.
I don't have them just go into the pantry or fridge when they are hungry. Meals and snacks are planned.
I am not sure how old your daughters are, but I am guessing they are old enough to be told that there are some unusual expenses coming up in the next whatever number of months and while it LOOKS like you have lots of chocolate chips, sugar, etc., it needs to last for that number of months and that means that they can use an average of 1/2 cup of chips and 1 cup of sugar, etc., per week. If they keep using 2 cups of chips a week, they need to understand that you will soon be out, not be able to restock, and you don't want to hear them whining. Put this in writing, have them sign it, and post it on the refrigerator. Finally, tell them this is not a punishment or anything like that but a way to teach them budgeting and making choices. Don't remind or nag them, let them make the decisions. Once it is all used, do NOT buy more until you can afford it.
DeleteIf they compression, suggest they look online for recipes that don't use as many high cost ingredients and save the higher cost recipes for special occasions.
Finally, make sure they know how much things cost and what the replacement cost will be if you can't find them on sale. An interesting illustration for them can be found on the current online flyer for Wegmans grocery store at Wegmans.com. Select flyer, choose any store, and leaf through the flyer to where it shows the cost of a complete meal using their ingredients and costs. Have your daughters do the same with your meals so they can see why you don't eat shrimp our steak every night.
This may not work (I was a teenage girl once, so believe me, I remember how easy it is to gobble up a batch of cookies all at once!) but could you try making up some cookie dough and then freezing it in batches? I make cookies for my children every Friday as an after-school treat, but since I only have two children and they are still young (and since my DH doesn't like cookies and I really don't need all those cookies!) when I make up the dough, I'll divide it into 2 or 3 parts, depending on how much there is, and cook up only a portion at a time. This saves money and it also saves time in the future for those Fridays when I'm rushed off my feet. If the chocolate chips are no longer in the pantry they're no longer a temptation, right?
DeleteThanks for all the good ideas. I've tried hiding the chocolate chips in the bottom of the freezer....I think the lentil container is going to work better. I'm going to try it:)
DeleteSince I do work with them on menu planning and cooking on a regular basis, I will try focusing more on prices with them. It's harder to go from more to less than the other way around, so that's probably why they are not extremely receptive. In their memories, I have ALWAYS replaced items as soon as they get low. The older children remember it otherwise. So, I am probably going to have to let things run completely out a time or two to get the message across.
I go back and forth between serving them, and letting them serve themselves. I keep trying to let them have more say-so since they are getting older. I will probably try monitoring it more closely. I may try putting a small amount of cheese, for instance, out in a bowl, to make them more aware that it is limited. Worth a try.
Just for the record, there is unlimited canned fruit available at any time, they just don't prefer it as snacks.
Thanks again for using your time to give suggestions.
Also, if they are choosing high calorie, high fat meals, another important point is to help them choose based on nutrition.
DeleteI don't know what you do for snacks, but I know one mother who makes hummus every day, and puts out a platter of vegetables to go with it. She says that by dinnertime, it is empty. Her children get some of their neccessary servings of vegetables every day.
Popcorn as a snack is also something that you may want to consider. Pop a giant bowl or two and put it on the table, and that's it. You could assign a child to make the popcorn or cut the vegetables.
Having a family snack instead of a free-for all will save you a lot of money.
I also suggest reading French Kids Will Eat Everything. It talks a lot about family meals and may give you a little to think about with family meal planning.
My children are 19, 17 and 13 and they would eat EVERYTHING if I let them! They know that fresh fruit, popcorn, toast, and yogurt are always available for snacks. If they want to use something else they ask me and I will tell them if I need it for a meal or if they may use it. I serve all meals restaurant style and immediately package the leftovers for the fridge for lunches for the week. We have really bad water here so a few years ago we purchased a water cooler and refillable 5 gallon water jugs, water and iced tea are served for meals. I also discuss the price of food with them and they occasionally come grocery shopping with me so they can see it first hand. They don't always love what we have but they always eat it!
DeleteI love what Brandy said about planning the meals and then letting children help prepare them, rather than letting them decide upfront. I think it's a great way to go, because they learn to make things that are in the budget and pantry. That said, I do consult my family when I meal plan....and my daughter will ask for tomato soup just about every time. We can our own tomatoes and make it from scratch, so that's an affordable option.
DeleteI have a bucket labeled dry beans that has all the different flavored chips (chocolate chips, white chocolate, butterscotch, etc.) along with the Dove chocolates that I got a screamin' deal on when we were on vacation (yes, I couponed on vacation...I'm nuts!) My daughter is still young and won't really go through things without checking with me, but my husband will make 'trail mix' out of a bag of chocolate chips and a cup of peanuts...and eat it in a couple days. Not good for him, and we'd run out in no time. That strategy works really, really well for keeping things on hand without making them visibily available for 'whatever'.
I also pop popcorn (on the stove, because microwave popcorn is expensive and we always find it too 'strong') for snacks, and we generally have fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and yogurt for snacking. I'll have to try the hummus - I love that idea!
I wish you well. There will be grumbling, but everyone will survive...even if they try to convince you otherwise. ;)
The planning meals yourself and having the kids help works when they are young, but aa they get older, you aren't really finishing the job if you don't let them make some choices and do things on their own. That's why I think we need to incorporate pricing and other financial info into the home economics lessons.
DeleteI struggle with this constantly. My older son is a very poor eater and always has been. I only allow one serving of juice per day and that is cut with water. You might try cutting it with seltzer and calling it a spritzer. I weaned my son off ovaltine by not letting him see me make his hot chocolate.
DeleteTry not putting cheese on soups, try croutons. Or cheese toasts. See if the one that likes to make dessert can be won over by cut out cookies. Brandy's recipe for graham crackers is excellent, and you don't need to make squares- I made turkeys. You could make hearts and drizzle them with chocolate, or she could take a whack at putting in a 1/4 cup of cocoa and some peanut butter which is at least cheaper than chocolate chips and nuts into whatever she is currently making. She could make Brandy's chocolate wafer cookies and sandwich them with jam. When my son wants something we don't have I tell him I will get it next time, but I only let him have one treat. Soooo if he wants goldfish then no cookies or whatever. It is hard, I have watched my son refuse food for 16 hours on a regular basis. It can be maddening, I know.
I am going to sixth or whatever number this is Brandi's suggestion of talking about how much meals cost. I have suggested to ladies I have tried to help with budgeting and grocery costs that they use monopoly money to show where all the months money goes. You need to start talking nutrition here too which Brandi pointed out also. Eating alot of sugar and the wrong kinds of fat is not good for you especially growing bodies. Eating healthy is kind of like budgeting. Have you tried implementing healthy desserts like whole wheat applesauce cake with very little sugar for most of the week with high sugar desserts reserved for say Sunday? I smiled at Brandis mention of treats hidden in a container labled lentils it made me remember my grandmothers Christmas cookie camoflouging, she would bake all her fantastic Christmas cookies and hide them from VERY Picky eater Uncle by putting them in containers labled liver and onions, spinach souffle, and my personal favorite kidney pie. It worked very well for her.
DeleteThis is also a struggle for our family as well. My husband will DUMP cheese over soups,pasta,etc...and he tends to pick pricey meals and ingredients. I try to make meals he really likes on occasion, but I am the cook and meal planner in our household, as well as the grocery shopper, and I have to plan meals based on cost and as tough as it is, it can't always be a free for all in the kitchen. I normally fix everyone's plates and that helps. I am also bad about dividing cheese up and freezing it,lol. That way it is not just out to be eaten, and there is only a certain amount for the meal. It may sound harsh but it works!! I think including everyone in the meal planning and discussing costs of ingredients would be helpful, they may not realize how much it all costs. I have a 3 and 5 yr old, so they do not understand that mommy can't afford to run out and buy more items all the time, and when they ask for more"extras" like cheese on their food, I just tell them they have enough. I am not depriving them of more food, just the expensive "toppings". They don't like it but you do what you have to do. The lentil container to hide chocolate chips in is brilliant:) I only let my kids have juice or tea at dinner, not throughout the day. My kids are still young, so snacks are planned for them,and they are not allowed to go and grab things out of the pantry. It is hard making changes and it will definately take time, my husband is still a work in progress when it comes to this, lol!!
DeleteA quick tip for the juice issue is to freeze apple juice or any juice in ice cube trays. Add 1 cube to a glass of water and it will infuse the flavor as it melts. My kids love it.
DeleteWhen my kids were young and my husband got cancer and we had no health insurance, I sat them down and explained our dire financial circumstances (not only medical expenses, but he didn't work and I had to be with him in Seattle for specialized treatment so not only did I not work but there were my extra living expenses in Seattle). I explained that food was the one big area we could economize and that they had to do their part---no more juice, no more paying for school lunches when they could take leftovers, dessert only once a week, no out of season fruits or vegetables and cutting back on milk and cheese. BUT, even if they did not want to , the law of natural consequences was going to be put in place. Meaning, if they gobbled up the cheese or the chocolate chips or the milk or whatever, they would do without until the next time I went shopping AND I had enough money on that shopping trip to buy more cheese or nuts or whatever.
DeleteI don't mean to offend you, but in my house, children who turn down all the canned fruits you have to offer are spoiled for choices. It pains me to think of you struggling with your finances and then having to struggle to have your kids help you. Having to eat what they have, watch what they eat so all the milk is not gone the day after you shop and so on, will be a good experience for them in the long run---both emotionally and physically because juice pretty much has zero value compared to the real thing. The other thing is that so many kids feel useless these days, like they are not essential to the survival of the family, and I think that is a mistake. Keep reinforcing to your kids that they are an essential part of your finances staying on track, that you could not do it without their cooperation, and they may learn to take pride in that. I felt like a winner when I heard the oldest boy admonish a fellow teen who practically lived at our house because his home conditions were so neglectful, "Hey, don't gobble up that bread. It takes my mom time and money to make it and we don't have either to waste. At least eat slow enough that you enjoy it!"
In our family my children can choose a special meal that they like on their birthday. Other than that they eat what I make which is what we can afford. I do know their likes and dislikes and do try to plan that into our meals, but there is sometimes something that they don't like as much or haven't tried before.
DeleteShow them the sales flyers from the stores and show them the things that are on sale. Let them try to find meals with the things that are on sale that week. (I use allrecipes.com a lot-you can search by ingredient) Then make a list together.
Another thing you can try if you can afford to, you might tell them that if they can save $5 from the grocery bill compared to last week that they can save the money and use it towards one night of eating out or a pizza night or something like that. If they eat up all the cheese or drink all the juice before the week is up ask them if they want to use the $5 for cheese and juice or use it for something special. They might be willing to clip coupons and eat less cheese and drink less juice.
I only make one dessert each week and when it is gone than everyone has to wait until next week for another dessert.
My children also love juice and there have been many times when I wish I had never introduced them to it. I have started buying the Walmart brand grape juice and diluting it 1:1 with water.
I also agree with Brandy that if your children are older it is really important to discuss finances with them. Don't be afraid to explain to them about income and bills that have to be paid. This is a life skill that they will need when they are grown so that they will be able to handle their own finances well in the future.
I use Red Star instant yeast, it works well for me. Even if a recipe doesn't call for sugar I add a teaspoon to the warm water, stir, then add the yeast. If it doesn't start to foam after a couple minutes then the yeast could be bad or the water at the wrong temp. If the yeast works ok but your dough doesn't rise then it's probably a bad batch of flour. Miki
ReplyDeleteI love photo of Ivory with her peas…. very cute!
ReplyDeleteFrugal Accomplishments this week:
Took some of my daughter's clothes and shoes to a consignment shop. I chose the 60% pay-out option of a store credit, instead of only 40% cash pay-out. Kids always need something a size up, right?
We did not eat out for the entire week -- HUGE deal for us… and really saved lots of money (and I am sure many calories).
Purchased pork chops from the manager's markdown for $1.59/pound. Hubby cooked them up -- delicious and we have leftovers.
Saved the broth from some Ramen soup… I love the broth when I don't feel good -- I am going to experiment with what I can make with it.
Had a job interview and I think I have employment starting at the end of January - it's a job where I pick up the work in the morning -- and I can work from home. I just have to turn back in my work the next day. I can do this while my daughter is in school and bring in some extra money. Woot!
Replaced buttons on two dresses for my daughter. Sewed a soft fabric ball from her toy bin.
Melted crayons into heart shapes (using silicone baking cups I bought two years ago) for one of the teachers at my daughter's school. Broken crayons turn into cool shaped crayons!
Was extremely careful with the grocery budget and stayed under my limit for the first time EVER (or least since I can remember). Used coupons, only purchased what I needed or what was a GREAT price. I felt so proud of myself.
Shared Brandy's lemon recipes with a friend who moved to Arizona this past spring and is harvesting lemons from a tree in her backyard. She didn't know what she could make besides cake, muffins…. so I sent her links to your recipes, Brandy! She loved them!
You are all so inspirational -- and Thank You to Brandy for such a great site.
I think last week was just the routines - cooking and baking everything from scratch (exept *the* vegetarian meatballs for shabbat meal) etc. I finally mastered the pita bread! I found out how to not make them too thin or too thick.
ReplyDeleteBrandy, I made your white bean alfredo with a small chunk of blue cheese (that was what I had on hand) and it was delllicious!
Frugal things w/c 7/7/13
ReplyDeleteIt has not been a good week for many reasons, unfortunately this means I have not been frugally focussed. What I have done is :
Started sorting out the newborn baby things from the garage, I only bought the bare minimum I needed last time, but was given a lot of second hand clothes by others. As a result I seem to have about 20+ vests and the same number of babygros. I will pass them on to someone in the ward.
Read a book that was given to me about decluttering. We have moved 3 times in the last 25 months so there is not a huge amount of clutter. But the book combined with a major nesting attack has got me looking round at all the things that would be of better use to someone else, or I could use more efficiently.
The only going out I am really doing is driving the little ones to school, sadly I no longer have the energy or lung capacity to walk up the hill.
My husband shopped for me I asked him to get veg and bread, he came back with veg, bread and a tray each of canned potatoes, sweetcorn, red kidney beans and tomatoes. He worries that our food storage will become depleted. I smile because there is enough of those items to last 12 months. But they are not expensive, will get used and the cash is available.
We changed energy supplier, I had the finally bill for gas and electricity from our previous supplier. We have been paying £80 gas and £150 electric per month since we moved in in March last year. The amount outstanding, and still tpo be paid is £350 gas and £150 electric. To convert that to $ in 9.5 months our gas bill is $1704 and our electric is $2411. The heating/hot water is the only thing powered by gas, the thermostat was set at 17C (63F). I am now turning it off during the day, the temperature falls to about 16C (61F)
I bled 2 of the radiators which weren’t heating up properly (and taught my son how to do it)
I suspect there is other things that I have forgotten.
I hopefully, will compile a list of the things I always do for next week.
Jenny in Wales
I made homemade breadcrumbs, too, which I used for breaded chicken. I used leftover bread ends, which no one wants to eat. I freeze them up until I have a large enough batch.
ReplyDeleteI made a new baked oatmeal recipe which was fairly well liked. We also had several meals with either black beans or lentils. I saved my veggie scraps and peelings to make vegetable stock.
I cut my teen son's hair, which he actually prefers instead of going to the barber shop.
We had some warm weather in Georgia (70s) so we pulled out our hand-me-down bins to find some shorts for both girls to wear. I also set aside some outgrown clothes for either donating, consigning, or repurposing.
I knitted a pair of fingerless gloves.
We are full swing into homeschooling, so there is less time for these things.
-Made flash cards for 1st grader.
ReplyDelete-Made all purpose cleaner for kitchen and bathrooms.
-Renewed library books online before fine hit.
-Borrowed through interlibrary loan instead of buying through Amazon.
-Paid dentist, paid off washer/dryer and made huge payment on card that had medical debt/car repairs on it. No trips or fancy meals charged.
-Shortened and added ties to a duvet that was too big for the comforter and made sleeping uncomfortable. Saved buying new.
-Figured out costs of each meal. This is eye opening when you are making large amounts for a big family.
-Started writing down every penny spent like I used to. I seriously dislike this process but it's invaluable.
-Cancelled Netflix. No time to use it.
-Planned upcoming "use it or lose it" vacation time with dh. We are trying to steer clear of impulsive decisions that cost money.
-Let zoo memebership expire. Zoo is great but consistently too crowded for us to enjoy. It's also right next to the expensive water park. The children understand we don't go but they still get a bit disappointed.
-Returned gift I didn't need and bought milk and a few household items.
-Tip from large family message board: Use laundry degreaser on clothing. Three family members work in a restaurant and we were ruining work clothes. Saved 4 items from going in the garbage. Wish I had tried this years ago.
-Made a plan for some items we would like to have like new glasses (expensive for dh and me despite insurance) and a few household repairs while still paying off debt and getting our savings funded. This will take patience and my self discipline to follow the budget. I am better at planning than follow through so this will be interesting.
My husband loves netflix. I don't think I've ever had time to watch anything on it. My daughter loves it too, but honestly, we could just get her stuff from the library. I'm goign to mention that to my DH and ask him to track how many things he watches in a month, so we can figure out what he's paying 'per item', so to speak. :)
DeleteRecently read somwhere to rub chalk on grease spots before laundering clothes. Grease comes right out. Don't know how, but it works.
DeleteBrandy knows how to get glasses for a great price online she might have done a post on it you should ask her how to do that.
DeletePatti B
I worked on Valentine gifts for the children, crocheting brightly colored yarns from a yard sale in to finger puppets and tiny stuffed animals. Cooked all meals at home except during our travels. We splurged on a weekend trip, but at least I did pack lots of snacks and drinks! Waiting to hear from a prospective buyer on the sale of our extra vehicle....
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures Brandy, especially of the one of Ivory eating peas!
ReplyDeleteI planned easy meals for dinner since I worked a lot. If the meals are too difficult, it is too easy to go out or order a pizza instead of eating at home.
We had to provide treats for my son's Boy Scout meeting. I was able to use some pop that I had in the pantry. We brought home a few leftovers which my husband took as part of his lunch.
A co-worker gave me an extra coupon book for the grocery store. A shopper in line behind me gave me a couple of coupons to use in the future. I used a coupon to save $5.00 off my store total of $50.00 or more and a coupon for $3.00 off of any produce purchase.
I made banana bread with two bananas that were very ripe. I made taco pizza with leftover taco meat.
We had various family members come over to visit on the weekend and we went to the library - fun, low budget family activities.
I put gas in my car and when I went by the gas station a half hour later, the price had gone up $0.15/gal.
I used the American Express gift card that I won to purchase gift certificates at one of our family's favorite restaurants.
I purchased one of my daughter's birthday gifts with a gift card that was given to me. I bought her a pair of boots for another birthday gift and they were less than I had budgeted for. Her birthday dinner was also less than I had budgeted for.
I signed up for a reward card at CVS.
I used a Hallmark coupon to stock up on several birthday cards for less than $0.50/card.
I went to the post office and bought forever stamps. This will save me time and gas and money since I think that the price of stamps will be increasing later this month.
I used a new tablecloth on my dining room table to decorate for my daughter's birthday party with relatives. I bought it at Walmart after Christmas for 50% off. I also used real china plates and plastic cups that were leftover from another gathering.
Have a great week everyone!
Jill
Accepted a gift of 18 eggs from a friend whose chickens are laying more than they can use
ReplyDeleteMade a double batch of Lentil & Rice stew. It's such a cheap meal(total cost=$10 for 4 meals and that includes kielbasa that is an optional item)
Developed a new schedule with my husband so that I can more consistently make bread. His taking kids to school twice a week gives me just the minutes I need.
Kids took lunch 4 of 5 days
Made double batch of laundry detergent
Redoing bathrooms and vinegar/water seems to be working well (with lots of elbow grease!)
Reusing ziplocs, wax paper from cereals
Lamented to my husband that I didn't want to buy razors to shave my legs anymore because of expense. He suggested I try his double-edged razor. He buys in bulk so only 20 cents per blade---that lasts me a month or more. I have to pay attention to avoid cutting myself but this is a great thing! I'm using an old razor of his so no expense other than blades. Using soap or conditioner instead of shaving cream.
Would you care to share your Lentil& Rice Stew please?
DeleteLentil and Brown Rice Stew
Delete1 (28-32 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
5 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
1 ½ cups lentils
1 cup brown rice (do not substitute white rice---it will turn to mush with the cooking)
3 carrots, halved lengthwise & cut crosswise into ¼” pieces
1 onion, chopped
1 celery rib, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I always use dried according to taste)
1 bay leaf
1/3-1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro or flat-leaf parsley (to taste & again, use dried so adjust to less, per taste)
2 tbls cider vinegar, or to taste (this is a key ingredient and makes all the difference in taste)
1 1.2 tsp. salt, or to taste
1.2 tsp. black pepper
Combine all but cilantro/parsley, cider vinegar, salt and pepper in heavy pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until lentils and rice are tender, 45-55 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients. Discard bay leaf. Stew swill be thick and will continue to thicken as it stands. If desired, thin with additional hot broth or water before serving.
(I usually chop a whole polish kielbasa and brown it, adding it in as the stew cooks. But meat is optional.
I usually double the recipe as it freezes wonderfully. Use a BIG pot if you double—this makes a lot of soup.)
Hope your trees made it through the cold temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading about the frugal accomplishments of you and your readers for a couple of months but this is my first time commenting. I have hesitated but finally decided that going public here would help me be more accountable and might be useful to others.
I regularly do several things to painlessly support my church. I turn in receipts from a local grocery store which then donates a small percentage to the parish school. I donate aluminum cans ( from soda bought by my daughters) for the church's scouting program. Each September I enroll my chosen school in Smith's program that donates to the school a percentage of each purchase I make when I use my Smith's loyalty card. I save Box Tops for Education for my school. I donate used printer cartridges which brings in some money for the school. Individually it's not a lot of money, but every little bit helps.
My daughter and I inventoried the freezer so now I know what's there. I've started using up some of the things I'd forgotten about.
Our neighbor gifted us with a loaf of cranberry bread after my husband cleared her driveway and walks of snow. Nice surprise.
My husband had two weeks off from work which was lucky since he was able to replace the baking element in our 27-year-old oven, clean the dryer vent and get our furnace working again.
I am continuing to use my recently found stockpile of pre-forever stamps, adding what additional postage is required.
Husband and I went to the museum of natural history on Saturday which was "free" since we already have a membership. Since we visit many times a year and come out money ahead over buying a day's admission, I consider the membership a good investment. (When our children were small, on a visit to my parents in CT, we found that getting an annual family membership for our not that large family of four children was cheaper than springing for a one day pass for the six of us!)
I received a very warm, thick fleece top and some other things when my daughter went through her clothes. First time things have passed on from daughter to mother....
Thanks to all.
Hope your trees made it through the cold temperatures.
ReplyDeleteI have been reading about the frugal accomplishments of you and your readers for a couple of months but this is my first time commenting. I have hesitated but finally decided that going public here would help me be more accountable and might be useful to others.
I regularly do several things to painlessly support my church. I turn in receipts from a local grocery store which then donates a small percentage to the parish school. I donate aluminum cans ( from soda bought by my daughters) for the church's scouting program. Each September I enroll my chosen school in Smith's program that donates to the school a percentage of each purchase I make when I use my Smith's loyalty card. I save Box Tops for Education for my school. I donate used printer cartridges which brings in some money for the school. Individually it's not a lot of money, but every little bit helps.
My daughter and I inventoried the freezer so now I know what's there. I've started using up some of the things I'd forgotten about.
Our neighbor gifted us with a loaf of cranberry bread after my husband cleared her driveway and walks of snow. Nice surprise.
My husband had two weeks off from work which was lucky since he was able to replace the baking element in our 27-year-old oven, clean the dryer vent and get our furnace working again.
I am continuing to use my recently found stockpile of pre-forever stamps, adding what additional postage is required.
Husband and I went to the museum of natural history on Saturday which was "free" since we already have a membership. Since we visit many times a year and come out money ahead over buying a day's admission, I consider the membership a good investment. (When our children were small, on a visit to my parents in CT, we found that getting an annual family membership for our not that large family of four children was cheaper than springing for a one day pass for the six of us!)
I received a very warm, thick fleece top and some other things when my daughter went through her clothes. First time things have passed on from daughter to mother....
Thanks to all.
Hi, Brandi,
ReplyDeleteI like your granola recipe - it is a good one! I wanted to share one that I made (from several recipes) that is really good too. It has applesauce in it for part of the oil, which makes it lower fat and also adds nice flavor. We have apple trees, and therefore, much applesauce. Mine has some wheat germ and such in it too, but like you mentioned in your granola recipe, I get those things in bulk and it's very, very affordable. I also find that with granola recipes, you can use what you have and make just about anything work. If honey is too expensive, make a sugar syrup instead - that sort of thing. (We have bees, so it's not an issue). Anyway, here is a link if you (or anyone else! :) ) is interested.
http://tenthingsfarm.blogspot.com/2012/02/apple-cinnamon-granola-goodness-recipe.html
I've listed my list here on my blog: http://emersonfamily.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/frugal-things-i-did-last-week-16/. I put up Valentine's Day Decor that I had made two years ago: a hand stitched banner, a LOVE garland, and a wreath. Now our home feels all Lovey Dovey. ;) I took a class on Photoshop at the library. Does anyone know where the cheapest place to purchase Photoshop is?
ReplyDeleteI would also love to hear everyone's opinions/comments about buying vision insurance? Both my husband and I wear contacts and need to have exams in the next couple of months. (We stretch out our exams to 1.5 to 2 years instead of once a year.) We have health insurance but it doesn't cover vision insurance so we would have to purchase it out of pocket. Thank you for everyone's input!
ReplyDeleteSam's Club and Walmart both have an eye exam for $69. You can order glasses online through several places, including Zenni Optical. If you go through Ebates, they give 2% cash back to Zenni Optical (they send you a rebate check). I paid $14.90 with shipping for a pair of glasses for my son. They look great and he's really happy with them.
DeleteWe have vision insurance and two places are approved. WalMart and America's Best. We pay $15 for eye exams and the eyeglasses/contacts it depends on brand and type of lenses. My eldest dd just got glasses and the whole thing cost $42 for exam and glasses.
DeleteMy dh and I are old so we have more complicated prescritions. It is worth it for us but I wouldn't worry with it if you aren't in the bifocal years. Our is included in our benefit package. It gives us exams every year and glasses/contacts every other year.
Where we live the cheapest eye exam is $85 at Walmart and $90 at Sam's. We have also ordered glasses from Zenni Optical and have been very happy with the results. My husband was a little confused when he saw me playing what he calls "pin the glasses on the hubby". Ha ha!
DeleteVision insurance pays for itself many times over for us. My husband has special glasses with a prism and we both have bifocals so our glasses are expensive. Also because of my husband's special vision needs we need to use the same eye doc every year and we need someone knowledgeable to take the time to treat his special needs.
DeleteI have my whole milk and my starter so I can make yogurt tomorrow. I decided to put it in eight ounce canning jars so there will be room for fruit or granola. Our sons had a frugal and fun week playing with a cardboard box from an amazon shipment. First it was a clubhouse, then it was a nest, then a fort, then a cave,and then we all colored on it. The next day my son took it and made it into a bowling lane and then it became railroad tracks and he pretended to be a trolley. Then my husband took part of the box and made a replica of Mr. Rodgers trolley. It was adorable.
ReplyDeleteI used a bag of onions and some beef broth I had leftover from Christmas to make french onion soup, it was so good. And actually very easy, I bought four more bags of onions today and I am going to make a quadruple batch and freeze some. Google says you can freeze onion soup. My husband was in heaven, french onion is his favorite.
Our new fridge came on Saturday and while I guess buying an appliance is not frugal, we did wait til we could pay cash and I am so happy to be rid of our old one. It was ruining so much food. We spent a while finding the right model and this one was the only one we could find that fits our kitchen( we have an old home and a teeeeny kitchen with odd spacing) and so now our kitchen seems bigger! It's amazing how much more room we have without our former fridge hulking over us. I still feel weird spending that much money on something even though we had talked about it and planned it and earmarked the money for it.
I am making roasted beet and poached pear baby food this week. Pears were costly at the store but my baby loves pears and homemade is way cheaper. I found an awesome deal on mozzarella at the store, 50% off! I bought six packs and it is good til March! I have home made tomato sauce already so we are in great shape for all kinds of dinners now.
I found some excellent deals on clearance this week, so I stocked up on dried figs for home made fig bars- my son loves them but they are so much at the store. I also got two bags of dried cherries. Your price list was very timely, I looked through the store with new eyes this week and it seems as though the prices have climbed astronomically. I know the organic cheese I used to buy last year was five dollars a bag and now the regular cheese was that price!
I baked a pie from scratch from pumpkin I roasted myself that we got from our CSA.
My mom and sister changed their cell phone plans so now I can call them for free! It's fantastic because my mom is isolated and I try and call her once or twice a day to check in and chat. Now I don't have to choose between feeling guilty about not calling my mom or feeling guilty because I ran up our bill.
I got the flu shot for free and also a free prescription. I was looking at my notes from a few years ago when we were really clamped down on our budget and saw I had written that unplugging our appliances or shutting them all the way down had cut our bill in half. I started unplugging our microwave and am shopping for a drying rack. Our winter power bills are ok but our a/c unit is 25 years old and our house is just plain old so our bills in the summer are outrageous. Our home does not have a cross breeze because of a poorly planned addition so opening windows does not really help. We are trying to plan ahead this year on ways to keep the house cooler. It's very humid here.
I have a ten month old ( I think our babies are very close in age) and I was wondering does Ivory have a problem with the skins on the peas? Do you steam them? My son loves finger food, I got some tofu for him to try this week and some broccoli. Tonight he had baked beans that I mashed into his chicken.
I steam the peas on the stove, or sometimes I just put them in the microwave in a bowl with a little water. They are soft but not overdone, and she hasn't had any problems wih them. She can eat bits of broccoli if I make them small enough; I steam our broccoli fairly soft.
DeleteAt this age I usually give beans without mashing as a finger food. She did well with the lentils and they were even seasoned with taco seasoning :) I need to make some other beans up and keep some aside for her this week.
Celia, in nursing school we were taught not to feed beets of any kind to children younger than 2 years old, because their kidneys are not developed enough until then to deal with some substance (I don't remember what) in the vegetable. If your child is only 10 months, I would wait a while. You could always freeze the beet puree until later.
DeleteI just wanted to say that my baby is 9 months old, just about Ivy's age, so I really enjoy seeing pictures of her and what she is doing.
DeleteJedidiah is eating mostly what we eat at dinner as finger food. Last night we had tuna noodle casserole. I did not want to give him the sauce, but he had some noodles, some tuna, and chopped up steamed broccoli. He especially loves the broccoli, but it can be tricky to clean out of his chins :)
Hmm, thank you very much, I will call the pediatrician.
ReplyDeleteI found this on Livestrong.com, which I consider a pretty reliable site:
ReplyDeleteBeets
Beets have the second highest level of nitrates, about 0.1 to 0.8 percent dry weight. This is 454 to 3,629mg of nitrates per pound of beets. The University of California at Berkeley warns against feeding homemade baby food derived from beets to children until they are at least 8 months old. Store-bought beet baby food is acceptable because manufacturers screen their beets for high levels of nitrates.
Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/367209-a-list-of-vegetables-high-in-nitrates/#ixzz2IBydtP1W
With some research, it appears that the advice has been modified, to waiting until the baby is 6 months old, which your child is. Most people do not feed solids to infants under 6 months old anyway, but the true culprit in the nitrates of the past appears to have been contaminated well water, not the beets themselves. (Carrots also have a known nitrate load, but we were never cautioned about them.) My apologies for worrying people unnecessarily!
ReplyDeleteI don't think it was unnecessarily at all! I spent a lot of time in doctor's offices when I was pregnant and my kids were babies with the job I had at the time. Parents' magazines and the like had articles about nitrates and homemade baby food. I think sweet potatoes was one of them too. I would think it is prudent to skip the nitrate-laden veggies for homemade baby food and either buy those or wait. I just don't think you can be too cautious.
DeleteAllison
Wow, yes I called the pediatrician and they said it was ok, thank you so much for thinking of us! I recall reading about some nitrate laden foods with my first baby but it had completely slipped my mind. I think carrots were supposed to be limited too.
DeleteSo much to read...I think it took me an hour at least start to finish reading everyones posts. Very enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteMade bread. Made banana bread from frozen bananas. My recipe uses 1 1/2 cups of banana and 1/2 cup oil...I always just use 2 cups banana and forget the oil. Most of the bananas I buy end up getting ripened and them frozen. Daughters also use them to make smoothies.
Went to grocery store for 1st time this month on the 12th. Spent $51.50 on food. Saw Parmesan cheese wedges for 2.99, regularly 4.99. There were 10 wedges. I picked up 7 of them , then checked back before I went to checkout and there were still 3 left so took 2 more. They will store very nicely in the garage fridge. We only use fresh grated cheese and we use Parmesan probably 3-4 times a week to top pizza, pasta, casseroles etc.
I was going to see if I could do the $100 month limit for groceries.
As usual, we did not eat out and we use leftovers for lunch at work. Husband went to a dinner meeting and the item was steak. As usual he brought his home and I re-cooked it the next night in a pepper and cream (I used 2%) sauce for him. It was enough for him for 2 meals.
I made a batch of biscuits for my youngest. School is still off for winter interim. She makes herself a cheese and egg biscuit for breakfast everyday. A biscuit cutter appeared in my Christmas stocking! I normally had just made them dropped.
Vitamins were BOGO at the store so bought some more Vitamin D as I take larger doses than normal for the rheumatoid arthritis. The Tylenol brands seem to keep going off the shelf so have been buying the store brand arthritis "tylenol" and have noticed they work the same for much cheaper.
Made meat loaf for my mother's birthday and was able to send slices back with her and with 4 oldest for their lunches.
Made yogurt in my 30 year old yogurt maker...worked just fine. Had some tonight with homemade granola and strawberries left from the birthday shortcake. We use mostly plain yogurt in cooking, not the fruity stuff.
Store brands of OTC medicines are mandated by law to be bio-equivalent to the name brand item, so it's a great choice to buy the store brand! I work at a pharmacy, and this is the only kind of pain reliever I buy. They are often even made in the same factory as the name brand, just on a different day!
DeleteThanks. Good to know.
DeleteHi!I went to the discount bread store and got loaves of bread for 80 cents a loaf. Generally for a 22 oz. of bread it is $2.99 a loaf.Pat
ReplyDeleteI never got a post together this week because hubby and I were out of town with no internet access. We came home early because of snow being predicted for today and not being prepared at our vacation house if we were to have a power outage.
ReplyDeleteAnyway...I would love some feedback on ways to use up sour cream that is out of date but still good. I think the flavor gets 'off' for fresh eating and do not like it so I often throw it out. I hate throwing out food! Help!!
You can use it in place of buttermilk in pancakes, waffles, biscuits, etc. You might need to thin it out a little with milk but it works just fine. You can make sauce with it for enchiladas.
Deletep.s. You can also use it in creamed-type soups.
DeleteThanks, April!
DeleteIt works for Augratin potatoes too!
ReplyDeletethanks for share.
ReplyDelete