Friday, July 1, 2016

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!









10 comments:

  1. Wow. Great week of frugal living. I need to get better organized so I can keep track of what I'm saving with my good efforts.

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    1. Hi Barbara! I just get a draft for a post going and add to it as I do things each week. That is the only way I can keep track of things. :)

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  2. No wonder you are feeling a bit tired and worn out. I'm feeling that way just reading all that you have done.
    My week was mostly spent inside as it was just too cold for my tropical thin blood to cope with. Apparently it wasn't that cold according to a number of people, but they aren't me. I was cold.
    It meant that having the oven on in the house was a nice way to warm things up. In the sub tropics our homes are built for the heat of summer not the cool of winter. I had a bit of a bake up. I had been gifted a bucket of oranges by my neighbour. I don't particularly like oranges but I hate waste even more. The oranges were so juicy. I made up two whole orange cakes. One went in the freezer and the other is just about all gone. Four whole oranges were put through the food processor and have been frozen in snap lock bags for future cakes. The rest of the oranges were juiced. The juice has been had with our evening meals. It should be finished tonight.
    Our mechanic dropped our daughters car around to us yesterday. I had my phone on silent and missed his calls. He decided to bring the car around for us. I baked up a banana cake using bananas that were just a bit too over ripe to eat, as a thank you, and hubby is dropping that off this morning.
    A friend had been quite ill with a nasty chest infection. I hadn't been around to see her for a while as I had my own health issues to deal with. Anyways I made up batch of scones, I think you call them biscuits, and took these around whilst still warm, along with cream and jam. A much appreciated gift.
    Today the sun is shining and I am not feeling quite so cold. I need to get up in the garden and prepare a couple of beds for our upcoming spring planting in September. We're away in August so I really need to get this done now.
    Take time out for you and keep yourself well. Our households tend to fall apart when we are ill, no matter how well trained other members of the home are.
    Life is good.

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    1. Goodness, you have been busy this week. You did so many amazing things with those oranges...good job! That was really nice of you to bake the banana cake and the scones for your mechanic and your friend.

      I do understand about the tropical thin blood. I have it too!

      Be blessed!

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  3. A busy and frugal week! You were very productive! All those raspberries look so lovely. 6 oz. containers of raspberries are selling for $2.50 here, on sale!

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    1. I was shocked at the prices of the raspberries and cherries at the store and at the Farmer's Market today. I'm feeling so blessed that we have our own here. Cherry season is now officially over for us...the birds picked the rest of the tree clean today and are off at someone else's tree now. :)

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  4. Great job! How did you make the cheese breadsticks from the hot dog buns?

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    1. Hi Jess and thanks! I just took the hot dog buns and put some of the Italian 3 cheese mix on them and then put them under the broiler. This time I actually put the broiler on Lo and not High. I have been known to burn things up very quickly on high. ;)

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  5. I am so jealous of your raspberries! Oh, I would kill for all those raspberries :-) And raspberry gin? Must. Make. NOW! Looks amazing! I love using leftover hamburger and hot dog buns for garlic bread. It's so easy, and of course, economical. Once again, I'm impressed with your savings! I'm looking forward to hitting up our local farmer's market this weekend too, one of my favorite summer activities.

    Have a great day Debbie!

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    1. Jessica, follow the link I included to Deborah's site for the raspberry gin and then settle in for a good long visit to her site while you explore it. Her blog is amazing and she is such a fun person!

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