Friday, February 10, 2017

Frugal Friday Wrap Up 2/4-2/10 2017

   
The new TV Chris and Heather gave us.



   This week has been one that seems to have stretched on and on.  I'm glad that I jot things down as I go during the week because honestly, I would have forgotten to list a lot of what I have here if I had not done so.  Gosh I hope that made sense. I'm a bit rummy and really should be in bed. 😉  Onto the savings!


~I cashed in at Mypoints for a $10 Amazon.com gift card.
~I reduced my stress level by walking away from a person who had become toxic.  It was not an easy decision to make but one that had to be made for my own health and peace of mind.
~My sweet hubby and I sat down and watched more episodes of "The Flash" in Netflix.
~Chris and Heather gave us their 36 inch flat screen TV.  They are were given her grandmother's even larger TV.  We will see if someone wants our TV that is now in our bedroom and if not, we will donate it.
~The hardware store had a bunch of their seeds on clearance so I bought some that I did not have already.
~Chris and Heather invited us over to watch the Superbowl so we took some snack food over with us and had a wonderful time visiting and cuddling with the grandboys.  I love my family!
~Heather gave me 3 beautiful scarves that had been her grandmother's and a book.
~Jeff and I went to Goodwill and found more brand new baby stuff, some books, a new cordless phone system, some lawn games, a pretty blouse for me, a nice warm Nike pullover for him and a draft guard for around the door.  Some of the items were the half price color of the day.  SCORE!!!!


My new $2 blouse.

~Chris taught us how to stream anything directly from the computer to the TV.
~Dollar Tree had Secret antiperspirant in stock again so I bought 4 more to add to our stockpile.  I had been looking for it for months and they did not have any so when I saw these, I stocked up a bit.
~We borrowed 4 movies from the library.
~Sunday evening, Jeff and I worked on our menu for the week.  It really does help to have his input.



~Monday I made 2 loaves of bread and cut up the remaining half a loaf from the previous week and made croutons with it.
~Dinner Monday night was Teriyaki beef, rice, corn and salad.  I found the Carne Asada meat marked way down at the store and it is perfect for making Teriyaki beef with.  Of course I made my own marinade for it with Shoyu, sugar, ginger and garlic (all to taste since this is how I learned to make it as a child).  Comfort food from my childhood.

Homemade Teriyaki Beef, brown rice, corn and a nice green salad.

~Our Credit Union credit card offers us rewards on our card.  I took the cash back option and had them deposit the money into our savings account.
~Heather, Bradley and Heather's mom are flying to Florida to be part of a friend's wedding next week.  Since the airline they are flying on charges for each piece of luggage, Heather asked me we had a large suitcase they can borrow and put all their stuff in it so they only have to pay for one bag. I am so glad that I kept one of the large ones my parents gave us when they were cleaning out their luggage collection.
~I cashed in at Pinecone Research for a prepaid virtual Visa Card.  I will apply that to my Amazon.com gift card balance.
~Tuesday, after I got off work, I stopped at Winco and did some grocery shopping using coupons and saved us right under $10 in coupons alone.
~I stopped in at the Salvation Army and finally, after 2 years of looking, found a nice pair of gray leggings that I can wear in public with a long shirt or sweater over them.  They are JJill brand which always fits me just right. ;)  I also found the DVD "Return to Oz" that I have been wanting for awhile now.
~My wonderful hubby was honored by being voted into our areas Bowling Hall of Fame.  I surprised him with one of his favorite dinners and ice cream to celebrate. 💑


Homemade Guacamole

~There were several avocados that needed to be used up along with some red onion.  I made a bowl of guacamole.  I wish my youngest grandson had been here to share it with me. That boy will lick the bowl clean!
~Thursday night just called for soup.  I quickly threw together a Cheddar Cheese and Beer soup.  I had never made it before so I did look up some recipes as a guideline and then just did my own thing.  Hubby and I both loved it!
~Jeff's car had been making a strange sound so he stopped in to see our favorite mechanic who found the problem very quickly.  He even told Jeff how to fix it himself since it was not a complicated job.  We love our mechanic!
~Thursday night I was laying in bed watching PBS.  I love to watch cooking shows and learning new skills and recipes from them. The show "Lucky Chow" came on.  They were doing a special on Thai food and the best chefs in the United States that specialized in this cuisine. In the opening shots I instantly recognized my cousin Andy Ricker and was delighted to see him and his "Thai mom" mentor prepare a meal together later in the show. 😊


Homemade Cheddar Cheese and Beer Soup

~Caesar finally got both Jeff and I to take him on a walk Friday.  The ice and snow had melted enough that the roads were clear.  We walked down to the post office to mail off a package to our Josh.  I used a bubble wrap mailer envelope that I had gotten at the thrift store awhile back and sent a nice brand new knit hat with his college logo on it (again thrift store), a military battle book I had sent away for that was also free and some mail of his.
~Jeff and I had leftovers for dinner on Friday night.
~I added more movies and TV series to our Netflix watch list.
~My points programs did not get as much attention this week as I had hoped, but that's life.
~Entertainment for me this Friday night is watching the lunar eclipse.  :)


   As you can see, we have been very blessed this week!  I hope you all have been as well!  On a side note, please forgive the difference in font size...Blogger in not cooperating or allowing me to fix it.









23 comments:

  1. Lots of great things this week!

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  2. Sounds like a good week filled with delicious food, Debbie! Love your $2 blouse, pretty color. I thought our mechanic was great, but yours has us beat by a mile!

    Hugs
    Jane

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    1. Thank you Jane! Our mechanic is pretty wonderful. It helps that we have watched him grow up and his father was our mechanic for years also. ;)

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  3. I am always amazed at how the pennies add up during your week! So many things to be thankful for, little blessings (the finds at goodwill, and special times (super bowl) and honor for your husband! Hugs to you today dear friend :)

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  4. You've had a very good week! And that is so neat about your cousin! Andrea

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    1. Thanks Andrea! It was sure nice to see him on TV since we have not actually seen each other in person since we were both 2 years old. His brother, Jeremy, is my cousin that has moved up near us and we are hoping that Andy and his mother will come up for a visit. :)

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  5. Good job for taking notes on what you've done. It's always an encouragement to read what you've done.
    I love those color coded finds at the thrift store. The stores here don't do that any more and I miss it.
    My accomplishments this week were shopping the 10% sales at the two grocery stores. I guess not shopping is frugal too I suppose - on that note I stayed out of the thrift store this week. I also spent time with my neighbor yesterday and relearned how to crochet. It was fun spending time with her-and, boy, was she patient. But I finally got it. I'm about 1/4 done with a scarf. I decided a while back that I either needed to start doing something with my yarn stash or get rid of it. I only lasted an hour but that was ok. And today I'm ok and haven't crashed.
    Take care of yourself. SJ

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    1. SJ, good for you for learning how to crochet. :) I can do some basic designs but want to learn more complicated ones. I inherited all of my Grandma Hazel's crochet hooks because I am the only one in the family who does crochet. I keep telling my mother, who is an amazing knitter, that this is so much easier, but she does not believe me. ;) I'm so glad you have such a patient neighbor to teach you. I'm also glad that you got on the discounts at the grocery store because every bit of savings counts. ;) Take care of you and here's to no crashes!

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  6. Sounds like you had an industrious week to me. I went by the Last Chance Goodwill sale and got a nice twin sheet for $1.71 and 3 packs of plastic Easter eggs (60 eggs) for 41 cents. I hit the regular Goodwill store and got 2 books for $2.70--cheaper than Ebay. Our chickens are laying wonderfully so piles of eggs-- need to make some casseroles to freeze with the extra eggs. Found some nice hand towels at thrift store $1.79 for both-- they washed up beautifully. Thought we were running low on the bacon hubby likes-- but found that I had an extra pack (I divide into individual servings, wrap and then freeze.)-- so pleasant money saving surprise. Weather here is warmer than usual so saving on heating bills. Hope you have a great next week.

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    1. Hi Delorise, it the Last Chance Goodwill like their Outlet store? YOu got some amazing deals this week! :) I would love to have chickens but we just don't have room here. I freeze bacon like you do or I will cook up the whole package and then freeze that so I have bacon already cooked when I need it. You are doing great my friend! Be blessed!

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  7. Love your frugal weeks, Debbie! That blouse is very pretty. And that picture of your teriyaki beef dinner is making me hungry! Teriyaki beef is one of my favorite dishes!

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    1. Thank you Bless! I fell in love with that blouse the moment I saw it and prayed it would fit me right and it did! Teriyaki beef is a favorite here too and is one of those comfort foods from my childhood. Be blessed my friend!

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  8. Sounds like a great week. Many good deals.
    Have a fantastic week!

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    1. Thank you Cheryl! I love finding good deals on things we want and need and our kids just blessed our socks off this week with the TV. :)

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  9. Hi again. I've tried knitting and managed to finish a few dishrags. But I'm really enjoying the crocheting. I agree with you that it is easier for me as well. Funny you should mention the different designs. My neighbor was all for teaching me a second one and I told her no. I just want to practice with one until I have it down cold.

    I crashed a little last night from Friday's visit with my neighbor. So it goes. Really strange thing this CFS: I'm exhausted and yet can't sleep. I walked the dog just now in glorious sunshine and we went farther then we've gone since our storms hit. But the rest of the day I'm staying tucked in my apartment.
    Hope you have some sunshine and enjoy your day. Cheers, SJ

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    1. LOL SJ, now I know why you and I get along so well. ;) I'm the same way...don't confuse me with yet another design...I need to master this one first. ;)

      I'm sorry you had a bit of a crash but I am glad that you had some nice weather to get out and walk your dog. I can feel a crash coming on here with me too. We have had a busy but productive weekend and it is catching up with me. I'm glad I do not work MOPS this week.

      Be blessed my friend!

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  10. So hope you can avoid a crash. A friend called today at lunch time to see if I wanted to go for a drive with her. I was sad that I couldn't just spontaneously do something and I told her that. I had already had a quick trip to the grocery store and walked the dog. And that was it for the day. She and I have known each other since high school and she's one who gets my illness so it was all good there.

    And I doubled up on my grocery savings again! Woot-woot. The store had an OTC medicine on sale but I found it on sale some where else. So I price matched and also got the store's % off. I didn't think they would do the price match since their sale price was the same. But they did. Double discount! This information will change how I look at ads for sure.Cheers, SJ

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    1. I'm glad your friend understood. That is an amazing score and deal on those OTC meds. Good for you! :)

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  11. Hi Debbie,

    Sounds like a fun and frugal week.

    Blessings,
    Mrs.B

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