Frugal Friday Wrap Up 7/1/16

   


   

All in all, this has been a very good week for us frugally speaking.  We did have one major expense when we had to get new tires for my car, but we even managed to save $500 there.  Yay!  God is so good!  Onto the savings!

~The grandboys spent the night with us on Saturday.  We pulled a large cheese pizza out of the freezer (bought at the Walmart deli previously when it was marked down to half price) and had miniature cupcakes that were marked at half price today for dinner.  The boys had previously filled up on raspberries and strawberries from our garden.
~The grandboys and I picked lots of raspberries and filled a large clean yogurt container full to send home with them.
~Our hot tub is a favorite of the grandboys, so we wore them out playing in it before dinner. ;)

~Our local Ace Hardware store was clearancing out their outdoor plants at 75% off.  We bought 3 tomato plants at $1 each and  2 6 packs of marigolds for .75 each.
~My car got a flat tire so we took it in to get fixed.  That tire was shot and needed to be replaced and so did another one.  They found us a set of 4 previously used tires that were still in great condition for under $300.  We kept the 2 other tires that were still in decent tires to use as spares.  New tires for my car would have run us about $800.
~Jeff found season 5 of "How I Met Your Mother" for $6 at the thrift store.  We also found some great school books for the grandboys, a devotional for new moms (saving this one for my DIL Rachel for a future gift when she and Jaysn have a child), some clothing, and some household goods.  I filled up my store loyalty card.  I will get $20 off on my next shopping trip there!

~I used a coupon when I bought a huge pack of toilet paper.  I got $1 off and will get 10 points from Swagbucks for using it.
~We took the grandboys down to the park to play.
~On Sunday I started a jar of raspberry gin http://www.mountainmamaonline.net/2016/05/the-easiest-thing-i-do-to-prepare-for.html#more that Deborah shared awhile back.  We had a glut of fresh raspberries and luckily I had enough gin left on hand to get a batch of this started.  Thank you Deborah for sharing the recipe!
~Sunday also found me making a double batch of homemade laundry detergent.  I watched videos on youtube while I worked on this out on the back porch.

~I got a sample box from PinchMe.com.  It had a large sample of cat food (we sent it home with the grandboys for their kitties since Rufus can't eat that kind), a coupon for the cat food and a sample of zzzquil.
~Jeff picked lots and lots more cherries!
~We were given a sample of one of Tide's new liquid laundry detergents when we were at Safeway.
~I picked up 4 pound of butter at Safeway while it was on sale.
~One of Jeff's favorite sleeveless shirts that he wears all the time started coming apart at the collar.  I mended it so that he could still use it and wear it out in public. ;)

~I found several things marked down at Walmart including a cheesecake!  I'm going to freeze at least half of it for treats for us later.
~I returned a watering can that was leaking and got a refund on it.
~I stopped at the Dollar Tree and got some sunscreen, aloe gel and some medicated powder that my husband uses. I also picked up some spices and treats.
~Safeway had their brand of 2 liter Seltzer water on sale for .89 but I had a coupon loaded on my Safeway card that brought it down to .69 each.  I bought 6 of them to make more Italian sodas with. :)

~Walmart's clothing clearance can be hit or miss but today I found a really nice and airy shirt for $3.  I was really happy with that
~The heat really hit us on Monday.  It was 93 F in the shade by 3 p.m. Luckily I had already harvested lettuce and strawberries in the morning before the heat got too oppressive.
~I scored 8 sets of coupon inserts from the recycling bin at the post office. :)
~Our dear friend gave us some fresh trout for dinner one night this week! What a wonderful blessing!

~My hubby stopped by the grocery store on the way home and bought 2 dozen eggs @ .49 a dozen.  He is the only one that eats eggs in this house so that will last him for a few weeks.
~I have been working my points programs like a crazy woman!  I need to get another $25 Walmart gift card so I can do some stocking up in July.  July is one of the months where we have major bills come due and we also have my hubby's emergency room visit and lab work bills to pay off ASAP.
~Jeff and I worked together to destem and freeze 2 gallons of cherries.  I did not pit them yet because I did not have the energy to do so...I can do that before I use them later.

~I made Bourbon Honey Chicken salad with lettuce and snap peas from our garden, a carrot and tomato and some previously marked down cooked and frozen chicken.
~I used up 4 leftover hot dog buns to make 3 cheese "breadsticks" to go with the salad.
~It was so hot on Tuesday and I was hurting so I got in the cool hot tub and turned on the jets and bubbles.  It did help ease some of the muscle aches.
~I picked a gallon of raspberries on Tuesday.  Those bushes are sure prolific!

~Wednesday Jeff and I stopped by our favorite thrift store and spent our $20 credit there.  We found some household things, a pair of shorts for Jeff on the .10 clearance rack, a shirt for Jeff, a pair of shorts for me, a cookbook, 2 brand new candles (those went in my gift closet), a large heavy duty bucket, clear plastic drinking glasses in a smaller size that are perfect for the grandboys, some stuffed animal patterns and craft kits (these will go to my DIL who loves to sew), a brand new box of pickling salt (you never know what you will find there) and a large picture frame with a nice mat in it.  I will be taking the picture out of it and relocating the hanger so it hangs vertically and put face shot of my grandmother on her wedding day in it.

~Jeff brought home half his dinner from when we ate out the other night.  He had teriyaki pork and chicken katsu.  I will be adding a homemade Chinese noodle dish to it and it will feed both of us for another meal.

~Thursday night I made a large taco salad for dinner using lettuce from the garden, tomatoes, some grated cheese, venison taco meat, and some crushed up tortilla chips.  I mixed it all up with some thousand island dressing.  We had cheesecake for dessert.
~This week I made 3 loaves of sourdough bread and 4 batches of croutons.
~We took Caesar for walks in the evenings when things had cooled down.

~My hubby built a custom shelving unit in our bedroom for all this clothes.  It holds more than his dresser did.  He used lumber that we already had. :)
~We watched some TV shows online.

~I have been reading stories about how people lived through the Great Depression in a book that I bought at the thrift store.  The stories always inspire me but at the same time make me wonder if people would have the skills and the gumption to make it through another Depression.
~I cashed in some points at Pinecone Research for a $10 check.

   With the holiday weekend upon us, I am still looking for ways to save and will be stocking up at the grocery store on the amazing sales that are going on.  I hope to buy enough of certain items that we use that are at rock bottom prices now to at least get us through the Summer.  We are also planning on going ot the Farmer's Market tomorrow and maybe even hitting a few yard sales.  Be blessed and be safe!